PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded PayPal (PYPL) from a Buy to a Hold; the analyst consensus is 12 Buys, 27 Holds and 4 Sells with an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $76.05.
• PayPal beat Q3 expectations (EPS $1.34 vs. $1.20; revenue $8.42B vs. $8.21B) and set FY2025 guidance of 5.35–5.39 EPS, yet the stock is trading near its 12‑month low (opened at $56.89) with a market cap of about $53.2B.
• Analyst actions are mixed—some firms raised targets (RBC, Macquarie) while others cut or cautioned (TD Cowen, Piper Sandler, Compass Point)—and insiders sold roughly 36,156 shares (~$2.43M) in the last 90 days, reflecting mixed sentiment and some insider profit‑taking.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of PayPal from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Macquarie upped their price objective on PayPal from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $66.00 target price (down from $83.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Cowen restated a "mixed" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.05.

PayPal Stock Up 0.3%

PYPL stock opened at $56.89 on Friday. PayPal has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $93.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $60.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $8.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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. Equities analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total transaction of $249,054.08. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,022.72. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.97, for a total value of $264,706.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,171,731.33. This trade represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,156 shares of company stock worth $2,432,524. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PayPal by 2.8% during the second quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 154,991 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,519,000 after purchasing an additional 4,165 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the second quarter worth about $325,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in PayPal by 15.5% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 164,901 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,058,000 after purchasing an additional 22,139 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,292,583 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $291,338,000 after acquiring an additional 313,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd lifted its position in PayPal by 347.0% in the third quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 193,100 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $12,949,000 after buying an additional 149,898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha publishes a bullish thesis arguing PYPL is "dirt cheap" with multiple near-term catalysts that could re-rate the stock (valuation, product leverage and optionality). PayPal: A Dirt Cheap Nexus Of Catalysts
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary (InsiderMonkey) highlights PayPal as a "depressed" buy—framing recent weakness as a buying opportunity despite TD Cowen trimming its price target—supporting a value/recovery trade narrative. Is PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) One of the Best Depressed Stocks to Buy Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Interactive Brokers will add support for PayPal USD (PYUSD) for account funding next week (after initial USDC support), which could help PYUSD adoption and indirectly benefit PayPal's payments ecosystem. Interactive Brokers to allow stablecoins for account funding
• Negative Sentiment: Michael Burry published a long, critical analysis of the payments sector that specifically calls out risks for PayPal, adding headline risk and prompting investor caution. Michael Burry Sounds the Alarm on Payments Sector – XYZ, PYPL, FOUR
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler issues a pessimistic forecast for PYPL, signaling downside risks from operational or growth concerns that could pressure the stock. Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for PayPal NASDAQ: PYPL Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts continue to cut targets and ratings: TD Cowen lowered its price target to $65 (hold), Compass Point cut its target to $55 and kept a sell rating, and Daiwa Capital downgraded PYPL—these actions increase selling pressure and reduce near-term upside expectations. TD Cowen adjusts price target on PayPal to $65 Compass Point adjusts price target on PayPal to $55 Daiwa Capital downgrades PayPal Holdings (PYPL)

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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