Should I Buy PYPL? PYPL 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

54.080

1 Day change

-2.58%

52 Week Range

90.920

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/26

PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL) is not a strong buy for a long-term beginner investor at this time. While the company has shown solid financial growth in the latest quarter, the technical indicators are bearish, analysts have lowered price targets, and sentiment remains cautious. Additionally, insider selling has increased significantly, and there are no strong proprietary trading signals to suggest immediate upside potential. The stock may be better suited for monitoring rather than immediate investment.

Technical Analysis

The MACD is slightly positive, indicating weak bullish momentum, but the RSI is neutral, and the moving averages are bearish (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5). The stock is trading near its pivot level of 56.876, with resistance at 58.345 and support at 55.408. Overall, the technical indicators suggest a bearish trend.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Hedge funds are significantly increasing their positions, with a 113.20% increase in buying over the last quarter.
The company reported strong YoY financial growth in Q3 2025, with revenue up 7.26%, net income up 23.56%, and EPS up 31.31%.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Insiders have increased selling activity by 143.92% over the last month.
Analysts have broadly downgraded the stock and lowered price targets, citing challenges in branded checkout growth and a likely investment year in
PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin is significantly lagging behind competitors in market cap, which could limit growth in its digital currency segment.

Financial Performance

In Q3 2025, PayPal reported revenue of $8.42 billion (up 7.26% YoY), net income of $1.25 billion (up 23.56% YoY), and EPS of 1.3 (up 31.31% YoY). However, gross margin dropped slightly to 40.68%, down 1.07% YoY. The financials indicate solid growth but with some margin pressure.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Analysts have generally lowered their price targets and ratings for PayPal. Recent changes include Truist lowering the price target to $58 with a Sell rating, Stephens lowering it to $65 with an Equal Weight rating, and Susquehanna trimming the target to $90 with a Positive rating. The consensus reflects cautious sentiment due to challenges in branded checkout growth and a likely investment year in 2026.

29 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast PYPL stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for PYPL is 72.86 USD with a low forecast of 51 USD and a high forecast of 100 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

6 Buy

19 Hold

4 Sell

Hold

Current: 55.510

Low

Averages

72.86

High

100

Current: 55.510

Low

Averages

72.86

High

100

Rothschild & Co Redburn

Neutral -> Sell

downgrade

$70 -> $50

AI Analysis

2026-01-28

New

Reason

Rothschild & Co Redburn

Price Target

$70 -> $50

AI Analysis

2026-01-28

New

downgrade

Neutral -> Sell

Reason

Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded PayPal to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $50, down from $70. PayPal should be well positioned for agentic commerce given its scale, but its advantage will erode as consumer behavior shifts, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the "marginal consumer" is increasingly choosing alternative payment methods. It sees Shop Pay, Stripe Link, Apple Pay and Google Pay as "winning the incremental user."

Morgan Stanley

James Faucette

Underweight

downgrade

$51 -> $50

2026-01-28

New

Reason

Morgan Stanley

James Faucette

Price Target

$51 -> $50

2026-01-28

New

downgrade

Underweight

Reason

Morgan Stanley analyst James Faucette lowered the firm's price target on PayPal to $50 from $51 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. The firm is lowering its forecast for Branded checkout growth on the back of more negative management commentary, slightly softer e-commerce trends in Q4 and its view that PayPal's share loss to competitors is set to persist, the analyst tells investors.

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PYPL Should I Buy

PYPL Should I Buy

Should You Buy PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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