PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday 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 $38.49 and last traded at $38.6710, with a volume of 13040611 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.46.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on PayPal from $62.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $249,054.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,022.72. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $139,815.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. This represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic AI partnership — PayPal announced a collaboration with Sabre and Mindtrip to build an end‑to‑end agentic AI offering for travel, which could expand payments volume and embed PayPal into travel bookings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership change and strategy push — PayPal named Enrique Lores (ex‑HP) as CEO amid a broader push into embedded/automotive payments; the move brings experienced leadership but also signals executive turnover during a tough performance period. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation risk — Multiple law firms (Pomerantz LLP and Kessler Topaz) have opened investigations into PayPal on behalf of shareholders, increasing legal overhang and potential costs or distraction. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and price‑target cuts — Rothschild & Co. Redburn cut its price target to $32 and kept a sell rating; Zacks has also moved PYPL to a Strong Sell and trimmed EPS estimates after the earnings miss, increasing sell‑side pressure. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying business weakness — Q4 results showed an EPS and revenue shortfall relative to consensus, analysts cut 2026–27 estimates, and several firms (Truist, Cantor Fitzgerald) issued pessimistic outlooks; commentary highlights near‑term execution and growth concerns. Read More.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 100.4% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 87,524 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Down 3.4%

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.42.

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

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

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.