PayPal stock headed for its biggest annual decline after Pinterest deal fizzled
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PayPal Holdings (PYPL
-1.5%) stock heads for its worst annual performance since the payments tech firm spun off from eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) in 2015, with its shares down 18% YTD as of 1:10 PM ET.
The company's stock took a particularly big hit in October when Bloomberg reported that PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was in talks to buy Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) in a deal valuing Pinterest at $45B. The payment company's stock dropped almost 12% in three sessions. PayPal later said it wouldn't pursue the acquisition, but the stock continued to decline for the rest of the year.
That was soon followed by weaker-than-expected guidance when it reported Q3 earnings, which led analysts to trim their price targets.

Renewed COVID fears and the potential for tighter regulations on payment processors also hurt fintech stocks in November. In October, Dow Jones reported that Visa's (NYSE:V) relationships with Square (NYSE:SQ) and PayPal were coming under scrutiny by the Justice Department. The CFPB also ordered PayPal and Square, among other tech companies, to turn in information about their payment platforms.
To be sure, fintech stocks have had a lackluster year, with KBW Nasdaq Financial Technology Index (KFTX) rising only 10% YTD, trailing the S&P 500's 29% gain (See chart here). Others in the group that weighed down KFTX include insurtech stocks Root (ROOT
+4.0%), down 80%, and Lemonade (LMND
+0.6%), down 65%; real estate app Zillow (Z
+0.4%), off 65%; and Block Inc. (SQ
-1.8%), formerly Square, -24%.
SA contributor Value Pendulum looks into whether PayPal (PYPL) is a stock to buy, sell, or hold after the price drop