PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

PYPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on PayPal from $50.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 target price on PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $58.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

PayPal stock opened at $39.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.42. PayPal has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $249,054.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,022.72. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in PayPal by 100.4% in the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87,524 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

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.

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.