PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets upgraded PayPal to a "Hold"; the analyst consensus remains a Hold (33 Holds, 7 Buys, 5 Sells) with an average price target of $56.39.
• PayPal's latest quarter missed estimates — EPS $1.23 vs. $1.29 expected and revenue $8.68B vs. $8.82B — though revenue rose about 4% year‑over‑year.
• Corporate insiders sold roughly 87,608 shares (~$3.83M) in the last three months, even as large institutions (e.g., Norges Bank, Vanguard) added substantial positions, leaving institutional ownership near 68.3%.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.39.

PayPal Stock Up 0.7%

PYPL stock opened at $51.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. PayPal has a one year low of $38.46 and a one year high of $79.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.48.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The firm's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,560,563.37. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,285,484.67. The trade was a 54.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $1,361,317.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,113.34. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $949,758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534,462 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 355.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,967,170 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $224,665,000 after acquiring an additional 3,875,688 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 143.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,089,586 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $297,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,998,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,177,536 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $548,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal landed a multi‑year deal as the NFL’s official peer‑to‑peer (P2P) payments partner — this raises user engagement and marketing reach for PayPal’s app-based P2P products and could accelerate adoption and monetization of “split, pool, settle-up” features among a large fan base. PYPL Stock Pops Past $50 as PayPal Locks Down NFL Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Speculation that activist investors or hedge funds are building positions — plus talk of PayPal as an acquisition target — has lifted shares on hopes for strategic change, cost cuts, board shakeups or a takeover premium. That can create near‑term upside even as fundamentals are sorted. Is PayPal an Acquisition Target? How to Play PYPL Stock Right Now Amid Activist Investor Rumors.
• Positive Sentiment: Notable value investor interest: Michael Burry reportedly opened a new position, which can attract bargain hunters and signal that some deep‑value investors see upside relative to the multi‑year selloff. PayPal Stock Is Down More Than 80% Over the Past 5 Years. Michael Burry Is Buying the Dip.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $55 while keeping a "neutral" rating — a modest endorsement that provides some near‑term support but not a strong buy signal. Benzinga note on PT raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentators and value‑stock lists cite PayPal as a turnaround candidate — these longer‑horizon narratives help the investment thesis but don’t change short‑term revenue/earnings dynamics. Five Value Stocks with Recovery Potential in 2026: PayPal (PYPL)
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho downgraded PayPal, citing competitive threats from X Money (and other fintechs) that could pressure P2P margins and user engagement — heightened competition is a tangible downside risk to the P2P growth story. PayPal (PYPL) Stock Faces Pressure as Mizuho Downgrades on X Money Threat
• Negative Sentiment: Persistent operational and governance concerns (guidance misses, CEO exit, shareholder lawsuits) prompted downgrades and cautionary analysis — these are the reasons some analysts and investors remain bearish despite headline catalysts. PayPal: Still Holding On For Dear Life, A Cautious Hold (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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