PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Earns "Sell" Rating from The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• PayPal was downgraded by Goldman Sachs from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, with a target price set at $70.00, indicating a potential upside of only 1.66% from its current price.
• The company's stock performance shows shares opened at $68.86, with a one-year low of $55.85 and a high of $93.66.
• Despite the downgrade, PayPal has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with sixteen ratings as Buy, thirteen as Hold, and three as Sell.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell" rating reissued by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $70.00 target price on the credit services provider's stock, down from their previous target price of $79.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.66% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of PayPal from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PayPal from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $74.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.50.

PayPal Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $68.86 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $68.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. PayPal has a fifty-two week low of $55.85 and a fifty-two week high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.08 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.49% and a return on equity of 25.35%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. PayPal has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.180-1.220 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 5.150-5.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.39, for a total value of $288,801.18. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 48,483 shares in the company, valued at $3,364,235.37. This trade represents a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 7,102 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $492,523.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,102 shares of company stock worth $1,046,607 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,501,936 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $224,001,000 after buying an additional 476,763 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the second quarter valued at $325,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.8% in the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 154,991 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,519,000 after buying an additional 4,165 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 281.8% in the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 30,338 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 22,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the first quarter valued at $529,264,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal Company Profile

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a technology platform that enables digital payments on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. It operates a two-sided network at scale that connects merchants and consumers that enables its customers to connect, transact, and send and receive payments through online and in person, as well as transfer and withdraw funds using various funding sources, such as bank accounts, PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products comprising its installment products, credit and debit cards, and cryptocurrencies, as well as other stored value products, including gift cards and eligible rewards.