Apple & Mastercard's Move Have Raised The Competition For PayPal: BofA Analyst

BofA Securities analyst Jason Kupferberg maintained a Neutral rating on  PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL at a price target of $74.

The analyst writes that several announcements in the payments industry highlight the company’s ongoing competitive challenges, which resulted in shares retracting much of last week’s gains.

This week, Apple Inc. AAPL kicked off the iOS 18 update, which included a new “Tap to Cash” service.

The analyst expects “Tap to Cash” feature to pose more competition for Venmo than Cash App, considering end-user demographics.

Moreover, Apple announced plans to integrate Affirm Holdings, Inc.‘s AFRM payment products into Apple Pay for U.S. users later this year.

Apart from this, Mastercard Incorporated MA disclosed that starting in 2030, all of its European card credentials will transition to tokenization, and passkeys will be introduced to replace passwords.

The analyst says that although this initiative is long-term, it underscores the ongoing competition for PayPal’s core checkout button and its new Fastlane service aimed at guest checkout.

Overall, the analyst says that PayPal’s new leadership is making sensible strategic moves, with the second quarter tracking ahead of the transaction profit, operating expenses, and EPS plan.

However, PYPL operates in a highly dynamic and complex competitive environment, which may limit the extent of top-line acceleration necessary for significant multiple expansion, writes the analyst.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Global X FinTech ETF FINX and Amplify ETF Trust Amplify Mobile Payments ETF IPAY.

Also Read: PayPal Gains Momentum: CEO’s Optimism, Technical Indicators Signal Bullish Trend

Price Action: PYPL shares are down 1.99% at $63.48 at the last check Wednesday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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