Now Not the Time to Spin off eBay's PayPal, Stifel Says

Unlike Carl Icahn, Stifel believes “now is not the time to spin” PayPal from eBay EBAY. Analyst Christopher Brendler feels that despite PayPal's early lead in both online and offline wallets, “competition is set to heat up dramatically and still believes PayPal is vulnerable to new threats.” While PayPal is the “far and away leader offline...with nearly 4x the acceptance of its nearest competitor, Google,” Brendler believes the company's “strategic positioning has improved recently with strong partnerships, smart acquisitions, and keen strategic decisions.” “PayPal's offline dreams are powered by mobile not payments,” said the analyst, who “questions how well PayPal can leverage its online success to successfully compete on [point of sale] technology/software at the [brick & mortar] retailer.” Stifel maintained a Hold rating on the stock. Shares of eBay finished up 1.1 percent to $57.36 during Monday's trading.