PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Down 3.4% on Analyst Downgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price was down 3.4% during 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 $38.46 and last traded at $39.08. Approximately 27,858,478 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 24,663,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.46.

PYPL has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. President Capital decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 target price on PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. 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, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated 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 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value 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 currently owned by company insiders.

More PayPal News

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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,276,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534,462 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.3% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 27,953,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,874,637,000 after acquiring an additional 636,441 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $949,758,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in PayPal by 1.6% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 11,992,031 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $891,248,000 after buying an additional 184,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in PayPal by 10.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,131,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $746,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,365 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal Trading Down 3.4%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.42. The firm has a market cap of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

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 during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 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.