--- title: "PayPal Stock (PYPL) Plunges to $46 as Q1 Earnings Beat Backfires. Analysts Say Sell" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/285425002.md" description: "PayPal's stock (PYPL) has plunged to around $46 following its Q1 2026 earnings report, despite beating revenue and earnings expectations. Investors reacted negatively to weak forward guidance, leading to a 10% drop in stock price. Analysts have issued multiple downgrades, with most maintaining Hold and Sell ratings. Goldman Sachs cut its target to $40, while RBC Capital set a target of $59, indicating potential upside. The overall sentiment remains bearish as competition intensifies in the payment sector." datetime: "2026-05-06T19:13:02.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/285425002.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285425002.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/285425002.md) --- # PayPal Stock (PYPL) Plunges to $46 as Q1 Earnings Beat Backfires. Analysts Say Sell PayPal Holdings (PYPL) came under pressure after reporting its 2026 Q1 earnings. Investors reacted negatively to weak forward guidance more than to the results. The stock also fell about 10% on May 5 and has continued the decline, now trading at around $46. ### Claim 55% Off TipRanks - Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions - Discover top-performing stock ideas and upgrade to a portfolio of market leaders with Smart Investor Picks Despite recording strong results, analysts and investors remained cautious as they await future growth reports. That change in tone drove selling pressure and led to multiple downgrades and price cuts from analysts. ## **Earnings Beat Overshadowed by Weak Outlook** PayPal shares dropped about 10% after rising by over 3% in pre-market trading on the day of its earnings call. The stock fell from $50 to near $45 before pushing back above $46, reflecting strong bearish sentiment. Notably, PayPal reported a Q1 2026 earnings beat, with revenue and earnings per share above Wall Street's expectations. Despite that, investors were unimpressed, mainly because the payment giant said it expects weaker results in Q2. Because of this, a positive shift in sentiment now depends on whether PayPal's recent growth can hold steady. Competition has also put extra pressure on the stock, with payment service firms like Apple (AAPL), Visa (V), and Mastercard (MA) posting strong Q1 results. Even fintech companies like Stripe are challenging PayPal, while stablecoin systems bring new competition to the PYUSD payment network. ## **Analysts' Ratings Show Mixed Bearish Views on PYPL** Wall Street sentiment on PayPal is severely negative. Most analysts from top research and financial firms have maintained their Hold and Sell ratings. The strong Q1 earnings have done little to quell concerns, as investors await more sustainable growth signals. Following PYPL's price decline to $46, analysts reiterated their downside targets. As of May 6, Will Nance from Goldman Sachs (GS) cut his target from $41 to $40 and maintained a Sell rating. Similarly, Matthew Coad from Truist Financial (TFC) kept his Sell rating and issued no price target. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo (WFC) leaned more bearish as Andrew Bauch reiterated his Hold rating and projected a decline from $52 to $46. For the more bullish outlooks, Bryan Bergin from TD Cowen has set a new price target of $48, implying a 4.08% gain from current levels. However, he still kept his Hold rating. Moreover, RBC Capital (RY) analyst Daniel Perlin has reiterated his $59 price target for PYPL, implying a 27.9% upside. ### Related Stocks - [PYPL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PYPL.US.md) - [PYPG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PYPG.US.md) - [PYPY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PYPY.US.md) - [IXN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IXN.US.md) - [FINX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FINX.US.md) - [ARKF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARKF.US.md) - [AAPL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPL.US.md) - [V.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/V.US.md) - [MA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MA.US.md) - [Stripe.NA](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/Stripe.NA.md) - [GS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GS.US.md) - [TFC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TFC.US.md) - [WFC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC.US.md) - [TD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TD.US.md) - [RY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RY.US.md) - [W4VR.SG](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/W4VR.SG.md) - [WFC-D.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-D.US.md) - [WFC-L.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-L.US.md) - [WFC-Y.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-Y.US.md) - [WFC-C.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-C.US.md) - [WFC-Z.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-Z.US.md) - [WFC-A.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-A.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Evergreen Wealth Management LLC Takes $1.54 Million Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286874221.md) - [Atria Investments Inc Sells 24,953 Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286730507.md) - [PayPal (PYPL) Will Fork Over $30 Million to DOJ Over Illegal DEI Practices](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286570805.md) - [PayPal (PYPL) Vows to Support 25 Million People and Small Businesses By 2030](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286456194.md) - [Analysts flag risks as PayPal pursues $1.5B cost cuts](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286139014.md)