PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BNP Paribas Exane Analyst Says

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane raised its price target on PayPal to $43.50 from $41 while maintaining a neutral rating, a level that implies roughly a 5.3% downside from the stock's current price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly cautious — 8 Buys, 31 Holds and 6 Sells with an average target of $56.72, leaving the consensus rating at Hold despite some higher individual price targets.
• PayPal missed quarterly expectations (EPS $1.23 vs. $1.29 expected; revenue $8.68B vs. $8.82B) and has seen notable insider selling recently (87,608 shares sold, about $3.83M over the last 90 days).

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from $41.00 to $43.50 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the credit services provider's stock. BNP Paribas Exane's target price indicates a potential downside of 5.27% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore cut their price objective on PayPal from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $63.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.72.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL stock opened at $45.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.42 and a 200-day moving average of $56.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.40. PayPal has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total value of $98,763.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,992.20. The trade was a 65.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $1,361,317.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,113.34. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of PayPal by 15,233.3% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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: Analyst upgrade lifted near-term sentiment — an upgrade reported by American Banking News pushed buying interest and helped lift the stock following the change in recommendation. PayPal NASDAQ: PYPL Stock Price Up 2.2% After Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Price-target increase from Citigroup (to $48) provides incremental support and validates modest upside even while the firm kept a neutral rating. This reduces downside risk for some investors. Citigroup adjusts price target on PayPal to $48 from $42, maintains neutral rating
• Positive Sentiment: Product distribution tie-ups: PayPal rolled out Payment Links inside Canva, which opens checkout to hundreds of millions of creators and small businesses and could boost merchant volumes and payment TPV over time. PayPal Brings Payment Links to Canva Creators
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic distribution with Meta/social commerce momentum: coverage notes PayPal’s role in Meta’s push into social commerce, highlighting potential transaction growth if integrated payments gain traction. Meta’s Growing Role In Social Commerce Brings Fresh Regulatory Scrutiny
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus remains cautious — many firms still rate PYPL a “hold” despite average price targets implying mid-teens upside, indicating divergent views and limited conviction among sell-side analysts. Analysts Still Rate PayPal a “Hold” Despite Seeing 14% Upside
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang: multiple law firms have filed/solicited lead-plaintiff candidates in securities-class-action suits, creating uncertainty and potential future liabilities or distraction for management. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional exit / investor concerns: ClearBridge’s Large Cap Growth strategy exited PYPL citing turnaround challenges, signaling some active managers lack confidence in near-term execution. ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy exited PayPal (PYPL) due to turnaround challenges
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile selling: reports note billionaire Steve Cohen trimmed PayPal from his holdings, which can spook momentum traders and adds to sell-side pressure. Billionaire Steve Cohen Pours $892,422,000 Into Four Stocks After Dumping Walmart, PayPal and Confluent

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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