PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares fell Thursday as takeover chatter swirled again.
The Venmo parent has reportedly not opened sale negotiations with Stripe, or any other suitor, Semafor reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
PayPal has worked for months with bankers on preparations for an activist campaign or unwanted takeover bid. Executives grew concerned after the stock's steep slide, the report adds.
The banker outreach began under former CEO Alex Chriss, who left earlier this year. Incoming CEO Enrique Lores, a veteran of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ), starts next week.
Bloomberg said Tuesday that Stripe weighed a move for all or parts of PayPal.
Subpar Q4 Performance
On February 3, PayPal reported subpar fourth-quarter financial results. It reported quarterly earnings of $1.23 per share, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.28 by 4.28%. This is a 3.36% increase over earnings of $1.19 per share from the same period last year.
PayPal reported quarterly sales of $8.676 billion, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $8.801 billion by 1.42%. This is a 3.71% increase over sales of $8.366 billion in the same period last year.
PYPL Price Action: PayPal Holdings shares were down 4.80% at $45.05 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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