PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on PayPal from $50.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on PayPal from $58.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Argus decreased their target price on PayPal from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of PayPal from $70.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $93.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.03.

PayPal Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $39.08 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.45 and its 200 day moving average is $63.42. PayPal has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $79.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.PayPal’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,993.40. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total transaction of $249,054.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,022.72. This trade represents a 11.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at $949,758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in PayPal by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,276,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534,462 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,160,227 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 1,066.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,106,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $156,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in PayPal by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,168,490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $476,876,000 after buying an additional 1,487,560 shares during the last quarter. 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: Strategic AI partnership — PayPal announced a collaboration with Sabre and Mindtrip to build an end‑to‑end agentic AI offering for travel, which could expand payments volume and embed PayPal into travel bookings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership change and strategy push — PayPal named Enrique Lores (ex‑HP) as CEO amid a broader push into embedded/automotive payments; the move brings experienced leadership but also signals executive turnover during a tough performance period. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation risk — Multiple law firms (Pomerantz LLP and Kessler Topaz) have opened investigations into PayPal on behalf of shareholders, increasing legal overhang and potential costs or distraction. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and price‑target cuts — Rothschild & Co. Redburn cut its price target to $32 and kept a sell rating; Zacks has also moved PYPL to a Strong Sell and trimmed EPS estimates after the earnings miss, increasing sell‑side pressure. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying business weakness — Q4 results showed an EPS and revenue shortfall relative to consensus, analysts cut 2026–27 estimates, and several firms (Truist, Cantor Fitzgerald) issued pessimistic outlooks; commentary highlights near‑term execution and growth concerns. Read More.

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.