PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Down 1.9% After Analyst Downgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) traded down 1.9% during trading on Tuesday after HSBC lowered their price target on the stock from $93.00 to $72.00. HSBC currently has a buy rating on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $55.21 and last traded at $55.51. 14,186,462 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 14,988,712 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.60.

PYPL has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (down from $83.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, December 12th. KGI Securities dropped their price target on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of PayPal from $84.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $74.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 price target (down previously from $93.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.97, for a total value of $264,706.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,171,731.33. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total transaction of $615,303.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,366,486.71. The trade was a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 36,156 shares of company stock valued at $2,432,524 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal agreed to acquire e‑commerce platform Cymbio to accelerate its agentic commerce push — this expands merchant integrations and could lift long‑term revenue/product engagement. PayPal to Acquire E-Commerce Platform Cymbio
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal is expanding into gift cards and integrated tax‑filing features — new product lines that could diversify revenue and increase wallet share with consumers and SMBs. How Investors May Respond To PayPal Expanding Into Gift Cards And Integrated Tax Filing
• Positive Sentiment: Retail sentiment and bullish pundits are predicting a rebound and an earnings beat that could reaccelerate the stock if results and guidance surprise positively. (Speculative, driven by retail momentum.) Prediction: PayPal Beats Earnings On Feb 3rd and Will Hit $90 Soon
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan’s Q4 preview expects PayPal to beat revenue consensus but deliver in‑line earnings — suggests top‑line momentum but limited EPS upside, so reaction will hinge on guidance. PayPal Q4 Preview: Analyst Expects Revenue Beat, In-Line Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with a neutral stance — new coverage can increase trading interest but the neutral rating provides no directional catalyst. Cantor Fitzgerald initiates coverage of PayPal with neutral recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and shops (BTIG, KeyCorp commentary) are largely holding neutral/hold views — helps explain subdued investor conviction ahead of earnings. Balancing Attractive Valuation Against Slowing Growth KeyCorp Comments on PayPal’s Q1 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC cut its price target from $93 to $72 while keeping a buy rating — the sizable PT downgrade reduces upside expectations and likely applied near‑term downward pressure on the stock. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on PayPal to $72 from $93

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake in PayPal by 100.4% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87,524 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 285.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 524 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $51.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $59.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.82.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.21 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 25.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal’s platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal’s portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree’s developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.