PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Citigroup

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) had its price objective reduced by Citigroup from $61.00 to $58.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on PYPL. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of PayPal from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial increased their target price on PayPal from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on PayPal from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.94.

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PYPL opened at $57.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.04. PayPal has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $70.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.27.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The credit services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $8.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 24.39% and a net margin of 13.78%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is currently 10.69%.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $188,277.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,726,372.76. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.80, for a total transaction of $30,249.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $131,520. This trade represents a 18.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 13,437 shares of company stock valued at $768,417 over the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal’s earnings-call commentary highlighted progress in diversifying beyond its traditional checkout business, including growth in financial services, strong Venmo engagement, product expansion and continued cost discipline. These developments suggest improving operating execution and helped support the stock. The 5 most interesting analyst questions from PayPal’s Q3 earnings call
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal remains viewed as a potentially attractive value stock: commentary points to ongoing revenue growth, robust free cash flow and substantial share-repurchase capacity. Its relatively low valuation could provide downside support if the turnaround gains traction. Is PayPal Stock a Value or a Value Trap?
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its 2027 EPS forecasts for the first and third quarters but lowered its fourth-quarter estimate, leaving the overall earnings outlook mixed rather than materially changed.
• Neutral Sentiment: PayPal is included among financial-transaction companies that could benefit from resilient consumer spending, cross-border payments and strategic acquisitions. However, rising technology costs and inflation remain industry-wide risks. 5 Financial Transaction Stocks to Watch Amid Cost and Inflation Pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded PayPal to Underweight and cut its price target to $53 from $56, citing slowing growth in core checkout, secular pressure on the branded button and a lower likelihood of a takeover. Barclays lowers PayPal stock to Underweight on slowing fundamentals
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms, including Canaccord Genuity, Needham, BTIG and Bernstein, maintained Hold or Neutral views, while Citigroup lowered its expectations. The broad lack of bullish analyst conviction continues to weigh on sentiment.

PayPal Company Profile

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and businesses to send, receive, and manage money online and through mobile devices. Its services support online checkout, peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, payment processing, invoicing, and other commerce-related transactions.

The company’s portfolio includes the PayPal and Venmo brands, Braintree’s payment processing technology, and Xoom’s international money transfer service. PayPal also offers merchant tools, digital wallets, payment solutions, and consumer financing products through its platform and related services.

PayPal traces its origins to 1998 and became an independent publicly traded company after separating from eBay in 2015.