Macquarie Reiterates Outperform Rating for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by investment analysts at Macquarie in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $100.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Macquarie’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 143.72% from the stock’s current price.

PYPL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on PayPal from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.88.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $41.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a PE ratio of 7.58, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal has a 1 year low of $39.96 and a 1 year high of $79.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.85.

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

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,854,022.72. This trade represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total value of $615,303.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,366,486.71. This represents a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $5,276,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 27,953,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,874,637,000 after purchasing an additional 636,441 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth about $921,570,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in PayPal by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 11,992,031 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $891,248,000 after purchasing an additional 184,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in PayPal by 10.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,131,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $746,508,000 after buying an additional 1,093,365 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some investors/analysts flag a potential buying opportunity because PYPL is deeply oversold after the sell‑off; contrarian pieces and technical analyses argue support levels could attract buyers. Should You Buy The Dip In PayPal Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: A handful of firms kept constructive views (or less bearish stances) despite cuts to targets, arguing PayPal’s cash flow, buyback capacity and long‑term position in payments give upside if execution restores growth. Analyst notes and reiterations
• Neutral Sentiment: Board appointed Enrique Lores (former HP CEO and PayPal board chair) as incoming CEO (effective March 1) with Jamie Miller interim — a major leadership shift whose impact is uncertain: it may reassure some investors but also signals the board’s dissatisfaction with past execution. PayPal Appoints Enrique Lores as CEO
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal announced a modest quarterly dividend (small yield) — positive for income‑seeking holders but unlikely to move the stock materially given current execution concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed expectations (adjusted EPS $1.23 vs. ~$1.29 est.; revenue ~$8.68B vs. ~$8.8B) and management lowered near‑term profit guidance for 2026 — the primary catalyst for the price decline. Q4 results and call
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analysts cut price targets or downgraded ratings after the quarter and CEO change, increasing sell pressure and reducing near‑term institutional support. Analyst downgrades and price‑target changes
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder/legal risk rose: several law firms have opened securities‑fraud investigations probing the gap between prior outlooks and results, adding uncertainty and potential headline risk. Securities investigation notice
• Negative Sentiment: Public criticism from former PayPal leaders and commentary about slowing branded‑checkout and transactions‑per‑account growth have amplified concerns that PayPal’s core growth engine is stalling. Former exec criticism

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.