PayPal’s Stock Is Falling Because Its CFO Is Moving To Walmart

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Walmart

said late Tuesday it named John Rainey as its chief financial officer, marking a setback for

PayPal Holdings
,

where he holds the same position.

Rainey steps into his new role on June 6.

PayPal

said Rainey will remain with it until late May to make possible an orderly transition. Gabrielle Rabinovitch, senior vice president for corporate finance and investor relations, will serve as interim CFO while PayPal looks for a permanent successor.

Analysts at Mizuho Securities said in a research note after the news emerged Tuesday that they still like PayPal stock. “We expect a negative stock reaction,” analyst Dan Dolev said. “However, we consider PYPL stock to be attractive from a valuation & strong brand presence perspective.” He rates the stock a Buy with a $ 175 price target.

PayPal (ticker: PYPL) stock was down 3.5% Wednesday in premarket trading to $ 104.51 and has fallen 42% year to date.

Walmart

(WMT) stock was relatively flat, up 0.2% to $ 153.51, and has gained 6% year to date.

Write to Logan Moore at logan.moore@barrons.com.