PayPal’s (PYPL) “Hold” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $91.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a “sell” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.55.

PayPal Trading Down 8.9%

PayPal stock traded down $4.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $45.88. 26,864,355 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,025,883. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. PayPal has a fifty-two week low of $38.46 and a fifty-two week high of $79.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.63 and its 200-day moving average is $54.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.07. PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $621,960.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,837.66. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.46, for a total transaction of $66,128.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,586 shares in the company, valued at $78,443.56. This represents a 45.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 99,677 shares of company stock worth $4,433,834 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in PayPal by 15,233.3% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on both earnings and revenue — EPS of $1.34 and revenue of $8.35B topped analyst estimates, showing modest top‑line growth and stronger-than-expected results for the quarter. Zacks: PYPL Tops Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Company is prioritizing AI and efficiency initiatives that management says will lower costs and could boost margins over time. This gives a structural playbook (productivity + AI) for improving profitability. WSJ: PayPal to Cut Costs After Profit Falls
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership and restructuring: Enrique Lores has moved quickly to reshape the organization (reshuffle and strategic changes); outcome is uncertain and likely to take quarters to show results. TipRanks: Leadership Reshuffle
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic options (including Venmo spin-off discussions) remain on the table; such moves can unlock value but also introduce execution risk and timing uncertainty. 247WallSt: Venmo Spin-off Discussion
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term guidance and market reaction: management gave cautious Q2 guidance and the combination of that guidance plus talk of restructuring spooked investors, triggering a sharp share decline. Blockonomi: Stock Plunges After $1.5B Cost-Reduction Announcement
• Negative Sentiment: User growth and checkout slowdown: commentary and data points in the call suggest Venmo/check‑out growth is slowing and user growth has stalled, raising doubts about revenue momentum. Benzinga: User Growth Stalls
• Negative Sentiment: Market volatility and skepticism: several outlets note investors “brushing off” the beat because the outlook and restructuring raise uncertainty; some analysts warned of further downside absent clearer growth signs. Schaeffers: Stock Sinks Despite Q1 Beat

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.