PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on PYPL. Macquarie Infrastructure upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. President Capital reduced their target price on PayPal from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.03.

PayPal Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $40.29 on Wednesday. PayPal has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.16. 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 company has a market capitalization of $37.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.43.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Research analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.35%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total transaction of $249,054.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,022.72. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,993.40. This represents a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 15,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its stake in PayPal by 100.4% in the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87,524 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal announced an agentic AI travel partnership with Sabre and Mindtrip — a move that highlights PayPal’s AI and commerce strategy and could expand payments volume in travel and bookings. Sabre, PayPal, and Mindtrip partner
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage notes Venmo momentum and PayPal’s AI investments as potential growth drivers vs. competitors — these business positives may support a longer-term recovery if execution improves. PayPal vs. Block
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and outlets are parsing next steps after the Q4 miss and CEO transition; pieces summarize strategic options but offer no immediate catalyst. What’s next after Q4 crash
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms (Kessler Topaz; Pomerantz) have opened investor investigations into PayPal, increasing legal/liability risk and weighing on sentiment. Kessler Topaz investigation notice Pomerantz investor alert
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have cut ratings and targets — Zacks moved PayPal to a “Strong Sell” and several firms trimmed EPS/price targets (e.g., Daiwa to $42) — pressuring the stock. Zacks downgrade Daiwa cuts price target
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary highlights the scale of recent share losses and lingering execution issues; retail sentiment has turned bearish and shares have plunged year-to-date. Execution crisis coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations and management change was flagged after Q4, creating short-term uncertainty around guidance and execution. Revenue miss & CEO change

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.