PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Macquarie

Macquarie reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $100.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on PayPal from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of PayPal from $93.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of PayPal to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Susquehanna cut their price target on PayPal from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.30.

PayPal Stock Down 20.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $41.70 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $58.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. PayPal has a 1-year low of $41.43 and a 1-year high of $82.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 25.64%. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,366,486.71. This trade represents a 20.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $249,054.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,022.72. This trade represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PayPal during the second quarter worth approximately $921,570,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,276,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534,462 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of PayPal by 35.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,177,536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $548,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,227 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1,066.0% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,106,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $156,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $97,794,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board names experienced external leader Enrique Lores as incoming CEO (effective March 1), which could speed execution and strategic change over time. PayPal hires HP’s Enrique Lores as its new CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish analysts see the selloff as a buying opportunity and at least one firm (Macquarie) kept an Outperform view and a high price target, signaling pockets of conviction among institutional investors. Benzinga – Macquarie Outperform
• Neutral Sentiment: Underlying volumes remained positive: Total payment volume (TPV) grew year‑over‑year (mid‑single to high‑single digits in Q4), showing continuing demand even as checkout metrics soften. PayPal in Charts: Total Payment Volume rose 8.5% Y/Y in Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS and revenue missed Street expectations (adjusted EPS ~$1.23 vs. ~$1.29 expected; revenue ~$8.68B vs. ~$8.8B), and management issued a weaker 2026 profit outlook — the primary catalyst for the sharp selloff. PayPal Is Plunging 14% As Profits Come Up Short
• Negative Sentiment: Surprise leadership change (Alex Chriss stepping down; interim CEO until Lores starts) intensified investor concern about execution and strategy execution, amplifying volatility. PayPal Stock Sinks After Company Warns of Earnings Drop and Names New CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades, big market‑cap losses and active securities‑fraud/shareholder investigations and law‑firm outreach are increasing headline risk and may prolong downside pressure. Securities Fraud Investigation Into PayPal Announced

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.