PayPal's (PYPL) "Neutral" Rating Reiterated at Mizuho

Key Points

• Mizuho reiterated a "Neutral" rating and lowered its price target to $50 (from $60), implying roughly a 0.87% upside from the current share price.
• The analyst consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $56.61, based on 7 Buy, 32 Hold and 6 Sell ratings, signaling broadly cautious sentiment.
• PayPal posted a recent EPS miss ($1.23 vs. $1.29 expected) and slightly weaker revenue, while notable insider selling and multiple securities‑fraud class actions amid a CEO transition heighten legal and execution risk.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by equities researchers at Mizuho in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price target on the credit services provider's stock, down from their previous price target of $60.00. Mizuho's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 0.87% from the company's current price.

PYPL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $41.00 to $43.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore cut their price objective on PayPal from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 price objective on PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Compass Point upgraded PayPal from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $51.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on PayPal from $67.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PayPal presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.61.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL stock opened at $49.57 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $44.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.09. PayPal has a 12-month low of $38.46 and a 12-month high of $79.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.40. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. PayPal's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other news, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total value of $98,763.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,992.20. This represents a 65.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $621,960.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,837.66. This represents a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in PayPal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,157 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake in PayPal by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,987 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade lifted investor sentiment after a firm raised its view on PYPL, sparking intraday buying interest. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal expanded its Brazil footprint by integrating Pix into its SMB checkout (PPCP), opening access to millions of merchants and supporting cross-border growth potential in a large market. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Venmo expanded its Stash cash‑back rewards, reinforcing its shift from P2P to broader money‑movement and consumer spend engagement — a potential driver of higher active consumer monetization. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis comparing Coinbase and PayPal highlights PayPal’s larger, steadier revenue base versus crypto peers — a defensive argument for investors but not an immediate catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto market strength is broadly boosting crypto‑adjacent and fintech stocks; any benefit to PayPal would be indirect and tied to crypto product usage. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market previews note PayPal faces an expected single‑digit EPS decline for Q1 2026; upcoming quarterly results remain an important near‑term event for the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities‑fraud class actions and numerous law firms are soliciting lead‑plaintiff roles with an April 20 deadline, increasing litigation risk, potential legal costs and investor uncertainty. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A report highlighting lawsuits and a CEO transition has raised questions about PayPal’s growth story and guidance credibility — a reputational and operational risk for sentiment and forward estimates. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Law firms are asserting potential individual liability for senior executives in the securities actions, which could raise stakes for management and increase downside risk. Article Title

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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