PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Cut to Sell at Rothschild & Co Redburn

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $50.00 price objective on the credit services provider’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s target price points to a potential downside of 9.93% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on PYPL. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down from $83.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Compass Point lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.72.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $55.51 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.82. PayPal has a 1 year low of $55.01 and a 1 year high of $90.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $51.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.14. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.64% and a net margin of 14.96%.The company had revenue of $8.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,374 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.13, for a total transaction of $94,984.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total transaction of $615,303.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,366,486.71. The trade was a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,156 shares of company stock worth $2,432,524. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in 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 valued at $1,874,637,000 after acquiring an additional 636,441 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the second quarter valued at approximately $921,570,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.6% in the second 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. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 buying an additional 1,093,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in PayPal by 1.6% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 8,493,311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $605,488,000 after buying an additional 132,837 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal/NCA survey shows rising merchant adoption of crypto — nearly 40% of U.S. merchants now accept crypto at checkout and many expect adoption to grow; this supports PayPal’s payments roadmap and potential volume/fee growth over time. Nearly 40% of US merchants accept crypto at checkout: PayPal
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal to acquire Cymbio — acquisition aimed at expanding agentic/merchant commerce capabilities which could accelerate merchant integrations and revenue diversification if execution is successful. PayPal to Acquire Cymbio
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst Q4 preview: JPMorgan expects a revenue beat and in‑line EPS — if revenue outperformance shows improving top‑line momentum it could offset some of the negative analyst chatter. PayPal Q4 Preview: Analyst Expects Revenue Beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald starts coverage with a neutral rating — adds institutional attention but not a catalyst to push the stock strongly either way. Cantor Fitzgerald initiates coverage of PayPal with neutral recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: HSBC trims price target from $93 to $72 but keeps a Buy — a smaller tailwind than before (PT cut is negative), yet maintaining Buy reduces the severity of the hit. HSBC adjusts price target on PayPal to $72
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto market shift analysis: stablecoins and app-layer services are re-shaping flows — structural crypto changes could be mixed for PayPal depending on how it monetizes on‑chain vs. off‑chain payments. Crypto Shifts Focus as Stablecoins and Apps Dominate Market Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail/sector bullish pieces predict a rebound to prior highs — these are sentiment drivers but speculative and not guaranteed. Prediction: PayPal beats earnings and will hit $90
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded PYPL to Sell and cut its price target ahead of Q4 — this is the most direct near‑term negative catalyst pressuring the stock. PayPal hit with sell rating and price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha warns of a brutal competitive landscape and unresolved changes — raises medium‑to‑long‑term execution risks for growth and margin expansion. PayPal: A Brutal Competitive Landscape
• Negative Sentiment: Market note: Zacks highlighted a recent session where PYPL underperformed despite market gains — evidence of short‑term selling pressure ahead of earnings. PayPal stock drops despite market gains

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.