PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Seaport Res Ptn

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for PayPal’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.25 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.38 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.45 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Macquarie lifted their price objective on PayPal from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on PayPal from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $120.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of PayPal from $80.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.84.

PayPal Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of PYPL opened at $61.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. PayPal has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $93.66.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. PayPal had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gail J. Mcgovern sold 2,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total value of $176,478.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,145,308.10. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,086,508,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in PayPal by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,924,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313,783 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in PayPal by 284.0% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,804,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $666,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,772,198 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in PayPal by 174.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,233,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $361,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,162 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in PayPal by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,923,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161,582 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a technology platform that enables digital payments on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. It operates a two-sided network at scale that connects merchants and consumers that enables its customers to connect, transact, and send and receive payments through online and in person, as well as transfer and withdraw funds using various funding sources, such as bank accounts, PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products comprising its installment products, credit and debit cards, and cryptocurrencies, as well as other stored value products, including gift cards and eligible rewards.