PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) stock hasn’t had a good start to 2022 despite maintaining consistent revenue growth.
The company has lost 60% of its value since last year, falling from around $300 to near-52-week lows of $97. Several tech stocks have suffered due to inflation, a tech sell-off and concerns about the Russia-Ukraine war.
I believe PayPal is a strong company and the stock is a good buy. Buying at the current level will ensure significant returns in the long run, once the market fears subside.
The recent reason to avoid PYPL stock is the shutdown of its operations in Russia, but I do not think that this move could impact the fundamentals of the business.
PayPal does not derive a lot of revenue from Russia and even if this move has an impact on the bottom line, it will be minimal. With that in mind, let’s dig deeper into my investment case of PYPL stock.
A Closer Look at PYPL Stock
PYPL presented heartening Q4 numbers recently. It reported more than 400 million users and it reported transactions per account growth of 11% compared to the same quarter last year.
It also added 49 million active accounts and ended the year with 426 million accounts.
The total payment volume increased to $1.25 trillion and the revenue hit $25.4 billion, an 18% year over year rise. Its free cash flow also improved and reached $5.4 billion from $5 billion in 2020.
Even though its numbers are impressive, PYPL stock has become victim to the recent sell-off. That means it may continue to fall before it rebounds, but rebound it will.
That makes this a good opportunity to add Paypal stock to your portfolio. As long as the fundamentals are strong and the business is growing, PayPal will continue to attract users and report solid numbers.
The company also has enough cash balance to invest in the strategic operations and ensure consistent revenue and user growth.
The Bottom Line on PYPL Stock
Jason Kupferberg, a BofA analyst has downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and has a price target of $107. The analyst is of the opinion that this year will be a transition year for PayPal as it focuses on growing Average Revenue Per User over the net customer adds.
Kupferberg adds that the stock may trade sideways in the short term but it remains unclear how fast the revenue could grow in the second half of 2022.
Paypal expects to add 15 to 20 million new accounts in 2022 and it has cut down on the goal of 750 million accounts set by the management earlier. It also expects the revenue to grow 15% to 17% this year.
Even though investors might be hesitant, the 2022 forecast can be seen in a positive light. The company is willing to sacrifice near-term growth in order to pursue a sustainable long-term strategy.
Investors should look beyond the quarterly numbers. The long-term potential of PYPL stock looks great. Plus, the company likely will continue to scale up in the coming quarters.
We may not see an immediate rebound, but the stock could perform well in the second half of the year. Every dip in the stock offers a good opportunity to own the stock. We may see another all-time low in the coming weeks and investors shouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to take a position.
On the date of publication, Vandita Jadeja did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Vandita Jadeja is a CPA and a freelance financial copywriter who loves to read and write about stocks. She believes in buying and holding for long-term gains. Her knowledge of words and numbers helps her write clear stock analysis.
