PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Down 2.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was down 2.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $32.00. Rothschild & Co Redburn currently has a sell rating on the stock. PayPal traded as low as $40.01 and last traded at $40.4920. Approximately 21,474,677 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 24,549,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.49.

PYPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on PayPal from $62.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on PayPal from $70.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.03.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total transaction of $249,054.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,022.72. This trade represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New CEO / strategy reset — Coverage highlights Enrique Lores being tapped to steady the company and a push into embedded payments that could justify a re‑rating if execution improves. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Value/short‑cover narratives — Several writeups argue PYPL is oversold after the sell‑off and could attract value buyers or short‑squeeze activity if fundamentals or execution signals recover. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Daiwa trims target but stays neutral — Daiwa cut its PT to $42 and kept a neutral rating, moderating upside expectations without adding a fresh sell signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks / other trackers boosting visibility — PYPL shows up on trending/most‑watched lists, which raises trading volume and volatility but doesn’t change core fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 earnings and guidance shock — PayPal reported Q4 EPS and revenue below Street expectations, which triggered the initial sell‑off and underpins near‑term skepticism about growth and execution. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and steep PT cuts — Multiple firms cut targets and issued sell/neutral calls (Rothschild & Co Redburn cut to $32 with a sell, Truist to $39 sell, Bernstein to $45, etc.), reinforcing downside pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Securities‑investigation headlines — Litigation firms (Kessler Topaz and others) announced probes into PayPal related to the timing of the CEO change and the earnings shock, adding legal risk and prolonging volatility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary from ex‑management — Former PayPal president David Marcus publicly criticized execution and urged urgency on fixes, which amplifies investor concerns about governance and turnaround timelines. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — An EVP disclosed a sale of shares last week, which some investors interpret as a modest negative signal amid the broader uncertainty. Read More.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its stake in PayPal by 100.4% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87,524 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the third quarter worth $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 8,700.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Down 2.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $37.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $55.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.59.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.35%.

PayPal Company Profile

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.