PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Receives “Market Perform” Rating from Citizens Jmp

Citizens Jmp reissued their market perform rating on shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PayPal from $67.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on PayPal from $50.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Ten 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.88.

PayPal Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of PYPL stock opened at $41.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $58.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.85. PayPal has a twelve month low of $39.96 and a twelve month high of $79.74.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is currently 11.22%.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,022.72. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total transaction of $615,303.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,366,486.71. This represents a 20.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the second quarter worth about $921,570,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after buying an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,177,536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $548,520,000 after buying an additional 2,160,227 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in PayPal by 1,066.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,106,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $156,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,925,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,794,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PayPal News Summary

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

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.