PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Gets Downgrade from Freedom Broker

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was downgraded by analysts at Freedom Broker from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on PYPL. Truist Financial increased their price objective on PayPal from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on PayPal from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on PayPal from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings cut PayPal from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group downgraded PayPal to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.94.

PayPal Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $60.20 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.33. PayPal has a 1 year low of $38.46 and a 1 year high of $68.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.07.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.14. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $8.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 552 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.80, for a total value of $30,249.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,520. The trade was a 18.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $188,277.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,726,372.76. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 13,437 shares of company stock valued at $768,417 in the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of PayPal by 448.3% during the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal shares moved higher alongside other fintech stocks as investors reacted to Block’s earnings beat and raised outlook. The article frames the move as sector-wide momentum rather than a PayPal-specific catalyst. Block Surges 16% on Earnings Beat and Raised Outlook; SoFi and PayPal Advance 4%
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal and Venmo expanded their payout partnership with LianLian Global, broadening access for creators, marketplaces and contractors across 96 markets. The added reach could support cross-border use of PayPal’s wallets. How Investors Are Reacting To PayPal (PYPL) LianLian Payout Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Payments software provider Justt introduced PayPal Alerts, which gives merchants pre-chargeback warnings. The feature may help merchants manage disputes, but it is a third-party product announcement, not a PayPal launch. Justt Launches ‘Flows,’ Its New Chargeback Automation Engine
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded PayPal to Hold from Buy and cut its price target to $63 from $72, citing a lack of reacceleration in branded checkout. This underscores concerns that PayPal’s core checkout business is struggling to regain momentum. Freedom Broker cuts PayPal to Hold as branded checkout stalls

PayPal Company Profile

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and businesses to send, receive, and manage money online and through mobile devices. Its services support online checkout, peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, payment processing, invoicing, and other commerce-related transactions.

The company’s portfolio includes the PayPal and Venmo brands, Braintree’s payment processing technology, and Xoom’s international money transfer service. PayPal also offers merchant tools, digital wallets, payment solutions, and consumer financing products through its platform and related services.

PayPal traces its origins to 1998 and became an independent publicly traded company after separating from eBay in 2015.