Mizuho Cuts PayPal to Neutral, Citing Threat From Musk’s X Money
Analysts see PayPal’s checkout and Venmo at risk if X introduces native payments to its huge audience.
Overview
- PayPal was downgraded to Neutral with a trimmed $50 price target as Mizuho warned that X Money could directly replace Venmo and weaken PayPal’s branded checkout with merchants.
- The move reinforces a cautious Wall Street stance, with a consensus Hold rating and an average price target near $56.61 that signals limited expected upside.
- Recent results have weighed on sentiment after PayPal missed fourth‑quarter estimates with earnings of $1.23 per share and revenue of $8.68 billion.
- Coverage notes X has more than 400 million monthly users and is expected to add integrated payments and wallets, with reported features like cashtags and a possible Visa tie‑up still unconfirmed.
- PayPal is trying to defend payment volumes through new partnerships, including a Canva integration that lets 265 million monthly users turn designs into checkout pages using Payment Links.