Cantor Fitzgerald Upgrades PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) to Hold

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was upgraded by equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

PYPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Redburn Partners set a $50.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens set a $65.00 target price on PayPal in a research note on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. KGI Securities reduced their price objective on PayPal from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.72.

PayPal Stock Down 1.9%

PYPL opened at $55.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $51.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.82. PayPal has a twelve month low of $55.01 and a twelve month high of $90.93.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.14. PayPal had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 25.64%. The business had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,374 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.13, for a total value of $94,984.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were 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 owned 16,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,171,731.33. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,156 shares of company stock valued at $2,432,524. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in PayPal during the second quarter worth about $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 100.4% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87,524 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 285.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 524 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal/NCA survey shows rising merchant adoption of crypto — nearly 40% of U.S. merchants now accept crypto at checkout and many expect adoption to grow; this supports PayPal’s payments roadmap and potential volume/fee growth over time. Nearly 40% of US merchants accept crypto at checkout: PayPal
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal to acquire Cymbio — acquisition aimed at expanding agentic/merchant commerce capabilities which could accelerate merchant integrations and revenue diversification if execution is successful. PayPal to Acquire Cymbio
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst Q4 preview: JPMorgan expects a revenue beat and in?line EPS — if revenue outperformance shows improving top?line momentum it could offset some of the negative analyst chatter. PayPal Q4 Preview: Analyst Expects Revenue Beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald starts coverage with a neutral rating — adds institutional attention but not a catalyst to push the stock strongly either way. Cantor Fitzgerald initiates coverage of PayPal with neutral recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: HSBC trims price target from $93 to $72 but keeps a Buy — a smaller tailwind than before (PT cut is negative), yet maintaining Buy reduces the severity of the hit. HSBC adjusts price target on PayPal to $72
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto market shift analysis: stablecoins and app-layer services are re-shaping flows — structural crypto changes could be mixed for PayPal depending on how it monetizes on?chain vs. off?chain payments. Crypto Shifts Focus as Stablecoins and Apps Dominate Market Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail/sector bullish pieces predict a rebound to prior highs — these are sentiment drivers but speculative and not guaranteed. Prediction: PayPal beats earnings and will hit $90
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded PYPL to Sell and cut its price target ahead of Q4 — this is the most direct near?term negative catalyst pressuring the stock. PayPal hit with sell rating and price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha warns of a brutal competitive landscape and unresolved changes — raises medium?to?long?term execution risks for growth and margin expansion. PayPal: A Brutal Competitive Landscape
• Negative Sentiment: Market note: Zacks highlighted a recent session where PYPL underperformed despite market gains — evidence of short?term selling pressure ahead of earnings. PayPal stock drops despite market gains

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.