The fintech pioneer PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) has been in what appears to be a terminal decline ever since it reversed its stock market trajectory after hitting the all-time high (ATH) above $305 on July 23, 2021.
Indeed, at their latest closing price of $56.10, PYPL shares are 81.82% below the ATH, with the last 12 months alone seeing a 17.48% loss.
More recent trading, however, gave PayPal bulls some silver lining, and the equity rallied 37.8% since early June from roughly $40 to $56.10 at the latest close, raising the question of whether it might again be time to buy the stock.
Is PayPal stock a ‘Buy’, ‘Sell’, or ‘Hold’ for 2027?
To begin with, Wall Street analysts appear largely uncertain regarding the future of the fintech giant, with the majority of recent rating revisions positioning PYPL as a ‘Hold.’
Worse still, the most recent notes have turned outright bearish, with Goldman Sachs’ (NYSE: GS) Will Nance and Matthew O’Neill from Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) issuing ‘Sell’ recommendations on October 13 and October 15, respectively.
Furthermore, the former is forecasting a 12.66% drop to $49 – down from the previous $50 12-month price target – and the latter a 5.53% decline to $53.
Simultaneously, the overall rating is only slightly more encouraging, as PayPal stock is, based on all notes provided in the last three months, seen as a ‘Hold’, and is, on average, expected to rise 3.46% to $58.04 by late 2027.
Notably, some of the included revisions came out during PYPL shares’ brief time above $60 in late August, which is also the latest timeframe in which it got ‘Buy’ recommendations.
Finally, given the institutional outlook and the root causes for PayPal’s decline – rising competition, lower consumer spending amidst inflationary pressure, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven layoffs – it appears far safer to ‘Sell’ PYPL equity than to invest in it, despite the recent recovery.
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