PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) fell by 12.71 percent on Friday to close at $53.66 apiece, as investors sold off positions following reports that private equity firm Advent and payment processor Stripe abandoned their plan to acquire the company for $53 billion.
A report by Bloomberg citing sources privy to the matter said that Advent and Stripe officially dropped their bid to acquire the digital payments platform.
The consortium reportedly bid to acquire the digital payments company last month at a price of $60.50 apiece, or at a 27.7 percent premium over its $47.37 closing price prior to the report.
Stripe and Advent were supposed to take equal ownership if the transaction proceeded.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
Declining Value
The acquisition buzz came after the notable decline in value of PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) amid the intensifying competition in the digital payments industry, once one of the biggest fintech winners in the world.
Shares have fallen by 23.41 percent over the past 12 months alone, and are now down by 81 percent over the past five years.
CEO Enrique Lores has been leading a restructuring effort that includes dividing the company into three business units and targeting as much as $1.5 billion in cost savings over the next several years.
Lower Q2 Profits
PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) saw its net income in the second quarter of the year drop by 11 percent to $1.219 billion from $1.37 billion in the same period last year.
GAAP net revenues increased by 5 percent to $8.682 billion from $8.288 billion, as total payment volume grew 10 percent to $486.4 billion.
Dividend Payment Looms
Despite the results, PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) said that its board of directors approved the distribution of $0.14 in dividends to all shareholders on record as of September 4, 2026. Payments will be made on September 25.
Price Targets Reduced
Following the acquisition abandonment report, two investment firms lowered their price targets for the stock
Mizuho Securities, for its part, reduced its price target for the company to $51 from $60 prior, while maintaining its neutral stance.
Loop Capital, on the other hand, issued a $50 price target, down from $62 prior, while maintaining its hold recommendation.
Hedge Fund Positioning Weakens
In the second quarter of the year, data from Insider Monkey showed that 60 hedge funds held positions in PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), a marked decline from 76 in the quarter previously.
Their combined holdings, however, decreased modestly to $1.207 billion from $1.217 billion quarter-on-quarter, signaling that while the number of hedge funds invested in the payments company fell sharply, those that remained largely maintained their exposure.
The relatively small decline in aggregate holdings signaled that institutional sentiment toward PayPal may have become more selective rather than broadly bearish, as some funds moved to reduce and exit positions while others continued to see value in the stock.
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