PayPal Faces Growing Wall Street Pessimism Over Q4 Growth Slump – BofA Latest To Downgrade Stock

Bank of America lowered PayPal’s rating to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ and cut its price target to $68 from $93, citing slower growth.

• The stock has seen a slew of bearish calls from Wall Street after PayPal warned earlier this month that it may face “tougher comps” this quarter.
• It also warned that branded checkout growth is projected to be “at least a couple of points slower.”
• JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Evercore ISI, and Wells Fargo have issued bearish calls on PayPal this month.

PayPal (PYPL) drew heavy retail attention Thursday after Bank of America downgraded the stock, marking another bearish take from Wall Street amid tougher comparables and slowing branded checkout growth. 

PYPL’s stock was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits. It slid more than 1.7% in pre-market trade, while retail sentiment around the company on the platform remained in ‘bearish’ territory.

Bank of America Joins Wall Street’s Bearish Calls

Bank of America lowered PayPal’s rating to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ and cut its price target to $68 from $93, as per TheFly. The firm said the company is taking longer than expected to revive growth, which “limits near-term upside.”

The firm had expected product innovation and the upgraded checkout experience to drive increased usage of the PayPal button at checkout. Instead, the analyst said that the fourth quarter (Q4) is likely to see a step down in branded checkout growth and that 2026 will be an investment year for the company.

PayPal Lowers Checkout Growth Outlook

Earlier this month, the PayPal management noted that Q4 comparables will be “tougher” than last year, with branded checkout growth projected to be “at least a couple of points slower” than in the third quarter (Q3). 

It also stated that guidance for Q4 remains “well intact,” according to remarks at UBS’s 2025 Global Technology and AI Conference cited by TheFly.

Other Wall Street Firms Echo Cautious Stance

After PayPal’s comments, JPMorgan downgraded the stock to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Overweight,’ lowering its target to $70 from $85. It described 2026 as a “show-me execution year” where the company faces both upside potential and execution risk. 

Deutsche Bank’s Nate Svensson followed with a price target cut to $65 from $75 while maintaining a ‘Hold’ rating on the stock, citing similar concerns over branded checkout performance. 

Evercore ISI also kept its ‘In Line’ rating with a $65 target, highlighting challenges in the Branded Core segment despite growth in Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) and Pay with Venmo segments. Wells Fargo, on Wednesday, lowered its target to $67 from $74 and kept an ‘Equal Weight’ rating on the stock.

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