Truist Financial Raises PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Price Target to $45.00

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised its price target on PayPal to $45.00 (from $39.00) but maintained a sell rating, implying roughly a 9.74% downside from the current share price.
• PayPal traded near $49.86 and recently missed quarterly estimates (EPS $1.23 vs. $1.29 est.; revenue $8.68B vs. $8.82B), while the consensus among analysts is an average Hold rating with a $56.55 average price target.
• Sentiment is mixed: bullish catalysts like an NFL peer‑to‑peer partnership and a Bank of America $55 target sit alongside insider selling and broad neutral/hold coverage from many firms.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $39.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sell" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Truist Financial's price objective indicates a potential downside of 9.74% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PYPL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. HSBC lowered PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on PayPal from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on PayPal from $70.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.55.

PayPal Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:PYPL traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,662,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,584,887. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $45.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. PayPal has a twelve month low of $38.46 and a twelve month high of $79.50. The stock has a market cap of $44.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.40.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The business had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PayPal news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of PayPal 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,113.34. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $621,960.30. Following the sale, the insider 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535 in the last three months. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 183,236 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares during the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 242.0% in the 1st quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. now owns 5,664 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008 shares during the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC now owns 11,048 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 250.1% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $297,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal secured an official peer‑to‑peer payments partnership with the NFL, a consumer‑facing marketing and distribution win that likely helped drive recent buying interest and higher short‑term volumes. PYPL Stock Pops Past $50 as PayPal Locks Down NFL Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its PYPL price target to $55 following the NFL deal, signaling an analyst view that the partnership improves growth/monetization visibility. That upgrade underpins some of the upside momentum. PayPal (PYPL) Stock: Bank of America Raises Target to $55 After NFL Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish writeups and investor commentaries (InsiderMonkey, Yahoo recap) surfaced highlighting PayPal’s valuation (low single‑digit P/E) and potential upside, reinforcing buyer interest from value‑oriented investors. Is PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst note picked up by AmericanBankingNews projects further upside for PYPL, which adds to the positive narrative and may attract momentum traders. PayPal NASDAQ: PYPL Stock Price Expected to Rise, Bank of America Analyst Says
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital initiated coverage at Market Perform (hold), which is not a bullish endorsement and may cap some gains; the initiation provides fresh institutional coverage but not a buy signal. BMO Capital initiates coverage of PayPal Holdings (PYPL) with market perform recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets note PYPL is a “trending”/widely watched name; attention can amplify moves in either direction but doesn’t change fundamentals. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces asking whether PYPL is now a value opportunity highlight mixed views — attractive valuation metrics versus recent revenue/earnings softness — leaving longer‑term conviction divided. Is It Time To Reconsider PayPal (PYPL) After Recent Share Price Weakness?

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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