Speaker 1: PayPal holdings entered the week trading near sixty two United
Speaker 1: States dollars in eighty one cents, marking a noticeable drop
Speaker 1: of almost four percent on Friday, largely in response to
Speaker 1: an analyst at DBS Bank lowering their price target to
Speaker 1: seventy United States dollars while maintaining a hold recommendation. This
Speaker 1: steep dip triggered a trading spike to about twenty one
Speaker 1: point nine million shares exchanged, which is more than seventy
Speaker 1: nine percent higher than average for PayPal, underscoring just how
Speaker 1: quickly sentiment can shift for the company. Still, most forecasts
Speaker 1: suggest the near term price will remain volatile, with some
Speaker 1: models predicting the stock opening in the low sixties and
Speaker 1: longer range analyst targets averaging around eighty two United States
Speaker 1: dollars in the next twelve months, representing upside ranging from
Speaker 1: roughly eighteen percent to nearly thirty percent depending on the
Speaker 1: specific report. High expectations from places like Canichord and RBC
Speaker 1: see targets as high as one hundred five United States
Speaker 1: dollars and ninety one United States dollars, respectively, while cautious
Speaker 1: views persist based on concerns around stagnant account growth and
Speaker 1: lingering economic uncertainty. PayPal reported strong numbers for its most
Speaker 1: recent quarter, beating analyst earnings predictions and increasing full year
Speaker 1: profit guidance. Third quarter results showed revenue grew about seven
Speaker 1: percent year over year to nearly eight point four billion
Speaker 1: United States dollars, with earnings per share above one United
Speaker 1: States dollars and thirty cents, and total payment volume around
Speaker 1: four hundred and fifty nine billion United States dollars also
Speaker 1: up seven to eight percent. Notably, PayPal continues to see
Speaker 1: robust growth in newer areas, such as its Venmo service,
Speaker 1: where revenue rose over twenty percent, with active debit users
Speaker 1: up more than forty percent, and its buy now, pay
Speaker 1: later offerings, where payment volume jumped more than twenty percent. However,
Speaker 1: while branded checkout volumes increased ten percent, overall transactions per
Speaker 1: account dropped by roughly six percent and total active accounts
Speaker 1: saw only about one percent growth, reflecting a deliberate focus
Speaker 1: on more profitable branded transactions. Analyst sentiment is divided, with
Speaker 1: a consensus rating between hold and moderate buy, and much
Speaker 1: debict about whether the company is undervalued or simply facing
Speaker 1: structural challenges tape. Howell's recent decision to initiate a dividend
Speaker 1: of close to one percent is being interpreted as a
Speaker 1: signal of management's confidence in its ongoing cash generation and
Speaker 1: ability to provide shareholder returns complementing continued share repurchases. With
Speaker 1: updated earnings guidance now ranging from five United States dollars
Speaker 1: and thirty five cents to five United States dollars and
Speaker 1: thirty nine cents per share for the full year, investors
Speaker 1: remain watchful for continued execution in PayPal's core segments amid
Speaker 1: a competitive and quickly evolving digital payments landscape.