Piper starts coverage of PayPal on the sidelines, with eyes on new management’s performance

Piper Sander initiated coverage of PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) with a Neutral rating as analyst Arvind Ramnani monitors the payment tech company’s growth under its new management.

The management team was overhauled in the past year and a half as Alex Chriss succeeded Dan Schulman as CEO in September 2023. Since then, the company named new finance, technology, and marketing chiefs.

“The transformed management team is focused on shifting PayPal from a payments company to a full-fledged commerce platform, which we view positively,” Ramnani wrote in a note to clients.

“While we are encouraged by early results and a shift in strategy, we will look for continued execution and further progress against these goals before becoming more constructive on the stock,” the analyst said. He’s particularly interested in what management will have to say at PayPal’s (NASDAQ:PYPL) investor day on Feb. 25.

With the start of the coverage, Piper has an $88 price target on the stock, and established EPS estimates of $4.56 in 2024 and $4.90 in 2025, both in line with consensus.

PayPal (PYPL) stock rose 1.6% to $86.02 at ~10:48 AM on Friday.

Piper’s Neutral rating on the company contrasts with the SA Quant rating of Strong Buy, and the average SA Analyst rating and average Wall Street rating, both at Buy.