PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Downgraded by Rothschild Redb to "Strong Sell"

Key Points

• Rothschild Redb downgraded PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) from a "hold" to a "strong sell", adding to recent analyst cuts that have weighed on the stock.
• Street consensus remains a Hold (12 Buy / 24 Hold / 6 Sell) with an average price target of $73.10, while PYPL trades near $54.08 with a market cap of about $50.6B and a P/E of 10.84.
• Shares are facing increased near‑term volatility ahead of the Feb. 3 Q4 earnings release, where analysts expect a likely revenue beat and in‑line EPS that could act as a short‑term catalyst.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Rothschild Redb from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on PYPL. Cantor Fitzgerald raised PayPal to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered PayPal from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on PayPal from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. KGI Securities cut their price target on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Compass Point decreased their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.10.

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL opened at $54.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $50.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $59.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.74. PayPal has a 52-week low of $53.65 and a 52-week high of $90.93.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $8.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.21 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 25.64%. PayPal's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $249,054.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,022.72. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total value of $615,303.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,486.71. This represents a 20.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,944 shares of company stock worth $1,725,233. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in PayPal during the second quarter valued at $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position in shares of PayPal by 100.4% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87,524 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other 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: Bull case: The Motley Fool argues a recent strategic partnership and product rollout could materially accelerate PayPal’s growth in 2026, a view that supports upside beyond current levels. Prediction: 2026 Will Be the Year of PayPal
• Positive Sentiment: Merchant adoption of crypto at checkout is rising per PayPal/NCA data — ~40% of U.S. merchants accept crypto and many expect it to become common, which reinforces PayPal’s payments/crypto strategy and longer‑term TAM. PayPal and NCA Survey Shows Rising Merchant Adoption of Cryptocurrency Payments
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue setup: JPMorgan (via Benzinga preview) expects PayPal to likely beat revenue consensus and deliver in‑line EPS — a beat would be a short‑term positive catalyst. PayPal Q4 Preview: Analyst Expects Revenue Beat, In-Line Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with a neutral/hold — adds institutional attention but not an endorsement that would move the stock materially by itself. Cantor Fitzgerald initiates coverage of PayPal
• Neutral Sentiment: HSBC trimmed its price target from $93 to $72 but maintained a buy rating — lowers upside math but keeps a constructive medium‑term view. HSBC Lowers PayPal NASDAQ: PYPL Price Target to $72.00
• Negative Sentiment: Sell-side pressure: Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded PayPal to Sell (PT $50) and Truist cut its PT and assigned a Sell — these downgrades and warnings about tough volume comps ahead of Q4 are directly pressuring the stock. “Heads Up, Investors,” PayPal Stock (PYPL) Hit with Sell Rating and Price Target Cut ahead of Q4 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term selling: Multiple outlets report shares slipping after analyst downgrades and pre‑earnings caution, increasing short‑term volatility into the Feb 3 earnings release. PayPal NASDAQ: PYPL Shares Down 1.9% on Analyst Downgrade

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.

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