PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 1.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Shares fell about 1.5% mid-day to roughly $60.74 after Baird R W downgraded PayPal from a strong-buy to a hold, with trading volume up roughly 41% (~17.7M shares).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but averages to a Hold rating — 12 Buys, 22 Holds and 4 Sells — with an average price target of $78.97.
• Notable insider selling has occurred recently (Suzan Kereere sold 12,500 shares; EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282), totaling 36,156 shares (~$2.43M) in the last 90 days; insiders now own just 0.08% of the company.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after Baird R W downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $60.63 and last traded at $60.74. Approximately 17,711,855 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the average daily volume of 12,536,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.66.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on PYPL. Compass Point dropped their target price on PayPal from $66.00 to $56.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. President Capital reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. KeyCorp restated a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on PayPal from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.97.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.87, for a total value of $860,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,799.21. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 36,156 shares of company stock worth $2,432,524 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in PayPal during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake 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. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 473 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

PayPal Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $56.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.43. The stock's fifty day moving average is $65.89 and its 200-day moving average is $69.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $8.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.21 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.64% and a net margin of 14.96%.The business's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. PayPal has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.270-1.310 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.390 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. PayPal's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.22%.

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.

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