PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised PayPal’s price target to $57 from $50 but maintained a “neutral” rating, while analysts overall have a consensus “Hold” rating and a $55.50 target.
• PayPal’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.38 versus $1.28 forecast and revenue of $8.68 billion versus $8.47 billion estimated; revenue increased 4.8% year over year.
• Despite improving payment volume and earnings, investors remain concerned about margins, branded-checkout growth and competition; reported takeover interest also remains a potential catalyst.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective indicates a potential downside of 2.26% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PYPL. UBS Group lowered PayPal from a "neutral" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.50.

PayPal Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $58.32 on Wednesday. PayPal has a 12 month low of $38.46 and a 12 month high of $79.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $51.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.02.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.02% and a net margin of 15.00%.The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. PayPal's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Frank Keller sold 4,612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.54, for a total transaction of $196,194.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,768,260.18. This trade represents a 9.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,543 shares of company stock valued at $364,325. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 41.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in PayPal by 40.1% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 17,388 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 4,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in PayPal by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,909 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,865 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: PayPal reported adjusted EPS of $1.38 versus the $1.28 consensus and revenue of $8.68 billion versus estimates of $8.47 billion. Revenue rose 4.8% year over year, supported by growth at Venmo and Braintree. PayPal's Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on TPV & Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Improved outlook and operating momentum: Management raised its 2026 adjusted EPS forecast to $5.38 and increased transaction-margin guidance. Total payment volume climbed 10% to $486.4 billion, transactions rose 8%, and PayPal generated $1.8 billion in free cash flow while repurchasing approximately $1.5 billion of stock. PayPal presses on with turnaround as sale questions linger
• Positive Sentiment: Takeover premium remains in focus: Stripe and Advent International reportedly offered $60.50 per share, valuing PayPal at roughly $53 billion. The board reportedly viewed the offer as too low, while CEO Enrique Lores left the door open to a higher bid. This supports investor hopes for either a sweetened offer or a stronger standalone recovery. Once high-flying PayPal becomes a takeover target
• Neutral Sentiment: Turnaround execution is still being tested: PayPal is investing in checkout modernization, artificial-intelligence tools, digital identity and stablecoins. Management says the strategic reorganization is progressing, but investors are waiting for stronger branded-checkout growth and evidence that cost savings can improve profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and near-term growth concerns remain: Higher investment spending pressured margins, GAAP profit declined year over year, and some reports characterized third-quarter guidance as soft. Analysts have largely retained Hold ratings because competitive pressure and limited branded-checkout momentum could restrain the recovery. X’s new Visa-supported X Money service also adds another competitive threat in digital payments. PayPal delivers Q2 earnings beat with soft Q3 guidance

PayPal Company Profile

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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