topstockalerts
Nov 5, 3:12 AM
Freedom Broker downgraded PayPal to Hold from Buy and cut its price target to
$63 from
$72, citing continued weakness in the company's branded checkout business, which has failed to regain growth momentum. Although Q3 adjusted EPS of
$1.45 exceeded consensus by 11%, revenue increased just 2% year over year to
$8.58 billion, missing estimates by 1.5%. Branded checkout growth remained at just 1–2% for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Analyst Mikhail Paramonov noted that EPS growth was driven primarily by cost discipline, lower credit losses and an 11% reduction in shares outstanding, rather than underlying business acceleration. PayPal raised its full-year EPS and free cash flow guidance again but described 2027 as an "investment year," with expected EPS growth of approximately 5–6%, similar to 2026.
The broker also noted that the acquisition premium disappeared after the Stripe-Advent consortium withdrew its proposal in late August.
$PYPL
