PYPL Stock Surges To 6-Month High On $53B Takeover Bid – Wall Street's Divided On Whether It's A Good Deal

• Wall Street analysts were divided on Stripe and Advent International’s offer of $60.50 per share to acquire PayPal.
• BTIG said the board would consider the offer “seriously,” while William Blair suggested the offer may undervalue the company.
• Jefferies said the transaction would likely have a limited competitive impact on Adyen because the combined company would remain focused on consumer payments.

PayPal (PYPL) shares surged to a near six-month high on Wednesday after Stripe and private equity firm Advent International reportedly offered $60.50 a share to buy the company. However, analysts are split on whether or not PayPal should take the offer. 

PYPL’s stock jumped as much as 18% in midday trade on Wednesday, marking highs last seen in January. It was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing. Retail sentiment around the shares improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, while chatter climbed to ‘extremely high’ from ‘high’ levels. 

Wall Street Divided On PayPal Buyout Bid

In a note to investors cited by TheFly, BTIG kept a ‘Neutral’ rating on PayPal’s stock but told clients the board will likely take the offer seriously, given what it called a "significant state of uncertainty" hanging over the stock. 

William Blair, which has a ‘Market Perform’ rating on the stock, said it's "hesitant to chase" the rally. It stated that new CEO Enrique Lores may not accept without pushing back, calling it a potential "low-ball offer." 

Meanwhile, Jefferies, which has a ‘Hold’ rating, focused less on price and more on what the deal would mean for competitors. Analyst Trevor Williams stated that a combined Stripe-PayPal would primarily target consumer payments rather than merchant processing, which would make the tie-up roughly “neutral” for Adyen. 

How High Can The Buyout Bid Go?

Blair thinks Stripe and Advent could go as high as $70 a share if pressed, though it puts a low probability on that happening. 

BTIG noted that the deal gives Stripe a scaled, consumer-facing brand to pair with its already-dominant merchant infrastructure. It added that PayPal, which is sitting in "no-man's land" amid a leadership change, gets a private-company structure that makes a multiyear turnaround easier to execute. The firm called the offer a "lifeline worth taking."

PayPal fired CEO Alex Chriss on February 3, replacing him with former HP chief Enrique Lores, the same day it issued new 2026 profit guidance that was much weaker than what Wall Street expected. 

Stocktwits data showed message volume around PYPL stock more than doubled in the last 24 hours. Some traders debated whether the offer undervalues PayPal's turnaround potential, while others treated the offer as a floor for the stock regardless of whether the deal closes.

Michael Burry, the investor known for his bet against subprime mortgages before the 2008 crash, shared earlier in the day that he isn't buying more PayPal shares, calling the buyout offer "simply too low." He believes the proposal is only an opening bid and expects the buyers to raise their offer. 

Burry estimated that PayPal's intrinsic value should be between $75 and $115 per share under different valuation scenarios, with his preferred estimate near $100.

Read also: Michael Burry Says $53B Offer For PayPal Is 'Simply Too Low' – ‘The Big Short’ Investor Expects Higher Bid

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com