PayPal downgraded at BofA on 'too high' 2024 estimates: 4 big analyst cuts

Investing.com — Here is your Pro Recap of the biggest analyst cuts you may have missed since yesterday: downgrades at PayPal, Plug Power , Asana, and Range Resources.

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PayPal falls after BofA’s downgrade

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares fell nearly 1% pre-market today after BofA Securities downgraded the company to Neutral from Buy and cut its price target to $66.00 from $77.00.

The downgrade comes after the stock saw an increase following PayPal's modest third-quarter earnings beat and the new CEO Alex Chriss’ fresh messaging regarding profitable growth and a heightened emphasis on execution. However, the analysts mentioned that 2024 is anticipated to be a transitional year for PayPal, with new leadership in both the CEO and CFO positions working to establish trust with investors and to drive consistent improvements in key performance metrics, particularly total payment volume growth, which lagged under the previous management.

Despite PayPal maintaining a strong brand, solid balance sheet, and scale, BofA analysts expect the stock to be range-bound in the near term.

Plug Power drops on Morgan Stanley downgrade

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) shares plunged more than 5% pre-market today after Morgan Stanley downgraded the company to Underweight from Equalweight and cut its price target to $3.00 from $3.50, as reported in real-time on InvestingPro.

The analysts pointed out that Plug Power's shares have fallen significantly this year, with a 63% decrease year-to-date and a 47% drop in the past three months alone. This decline is notably larger than both their clean tech sector coverage and the S&P 500. Even after the underperformance in 2023, the analysts expressed concern about substantial risks associated with Plug Power’s business model, particularly in light of the operational challenges encountered while commercializing its initial green hydrogen facilities.

On paper, PLUG's strategy makes sense to us, but we have reduced confidence in the company's ability to execute on that strategy barring a potential dilutive capital raise and a near-perfect execution going forward.

Two more downgrades

HSBC downgraded Asana (NYSE:ASAN) to Reduce from Hold with a price target of $18.00 following the company’s reported Q3 results yesterday.

While Q3 EPS and revenues came in above consensus estimates, shares plunged more than 14% pre-market today on billings weakness.

JPMorgan downgraded Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) to Underweight from Neutral and cut its price target to $32.00 from $33.00.

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