Stephens Issues Pessimistic Forecast for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Stephens from $65.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.78% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised PayPal to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $50.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of PayPal from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.88.

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL opened at $39.90 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $36.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.38, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal has a 1-year low of $38.88 and a 1-year high of $79.74.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released 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). PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The business had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other PayPal news, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total transaction of $615,303.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,486.71. This represents a 20.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,022.72. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of PayPal by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 12,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,915,000. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in PayPal by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Eubel Brady & Suttman Asset Management Inc. now owns 494,520 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $28,870,000 after purchasing an additional 22,141 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,071 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 274,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,026,000 after buying an additional 67,330 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company announced discretionary buybacks and a new dividend, which provide near-term support for the stock and signal management willingness to return capital to shareholders. PayPal: Double-Digit Buybacks…
• Positive Sentiment: Some value-focused analysts and commentary argue the stock is deeply oversold and presents a buying opportunity at current depressed multiples. Should You Buy The Dip In PayPal Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal remains a core fintech name within the Nasdaq/sector narrative, meaning it could benefit from any tech/fintech rotation back into the space. PayPal Remains Central…
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent analyst research reports vary — some maintain Hold/Neutral with reduced targets while others keep positive stances after trimming forecasts; this divergence is contributing to volatile intraday trading. Analyst Report: PayPal Holdings Inc
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed EPS and revenue expectations and management issued a materially lower 2026 profit outlook — the core catalyst that started the rout. PayPal Replaces CEO…
• Negative Sentiment: Board ousted CEO Alex Chriss and appointed new leadership (reports name HP’s Enrique Lores), creating near-term execution uncertainty. PayPal replaces CEO Alex Chriss…
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple firms cut price targets and downgraded the stock following the miss/CEO change — increasing selling pressure and reducing analyst support. These PayPal Analysts Downgrade…
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder class-action / securities-fraud investigations have been announced by multiple law firms tied to the gap between prior guidance and results, which can increase legal overhang and investor risk. Investigation Examines Gap…
• Negative Sentiment: Momentum/technical damage: PYPL has hit multiyear lows, with heavy volume and a cascade of retail/quant selling amplifying downside. Reaches New 12-Month Low After Earnings Miss

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.