PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Down 2.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) traded down 2.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a sell rating. Rothschild & Co Redburn now has a $50.00 price target on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $53.65 and last traded at $54.08. 19,052,421 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 26% from the average session volume of 15,123,308 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.51.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Dbs Bank lowered their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $93.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Argus increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,366,486.71. The trade was a 20.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.87, for a total transaction of $860,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,133,799.21. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,944 shares of company stock valued at $1,725,233. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal reported survey results showing rising merchant adoption of crypto payments (nearly 40% of U.S. merchants accept crypto), supporting PayPal’s payments/crypto strategy and potential revenue growth from new payment flows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal agreed to acquire e-commerce platform Cymbio to expand its agentic commerce push — an M&A move that could help broaden merchant services and drive long‑term GMV and revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pieces note product expansion (gift cards, integrated tax filing) that could diversify revenue and increase engagement if executed well. Investors see this as incremental upside to payments and consumer services. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect Q4 results (reporting Feb 3). JPMorgan expects a revenue beat with in‑line earnings, so upcoming guidance and Q4 details will be closely watched. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HSBC cut its price target from $93 to $72 but kept a Buy rating — a downgrade to the target that tempers upside expectations while still signaling conviction in the long term. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with a Neutral/Hold — another sign that some sell‑side desks view valuation and near‑term execution as balanced rather than a clear buy. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded PayPal to Sell and cut the price target to $50, signaling near‑term downside risk (≈7–8% from current levels) and putting pressure on the stock ahead of earnings. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Critical analyst commentary and deep-dive pieces highlight a brutal competitive landscape and execution risks, which amplify investor concerns about growth sustainability and margin pressure. Article Title

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in PayPal by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 27,953,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,874,637,000 after acquiring an additional 636,441 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the second quarter valued at about $921,570,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 11,992,031 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $891,248,000 after buying an additional 184,014 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,131,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $746,508,000 after buying an additional 1,093,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 8,493,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $605,488,000 after buying an additional 132,837 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $50.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.29 and its 200 day moving average is $65.74.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 25.64% and a net margin of 14.96%.The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current 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.