** J.P. Morgan downgrades payments firm Fiserv FISV.O and fintech giant PayPal PYPL.O to "neutral" from "overweight"
** PYPL shares fall 1% in premarket trading, FISV down 0.33%
** JPM also nearly halves FISV PT to $85 from $155, PYPL PT to $70 from $85
** Brokerage says confidence in FISV will take time to recover after multiple quarters of disappointing results
** JPM sees FISV breaking its four-decade streak of double-digit annual EPS growth in 2026 as its new CEO prioritizes service and technology investments over short-term growth
** PYPL is investing early in growth initiatives such as agentic commerce and BNPL, but the investments create a less linear path to achieving 2027 growth targets and come with execution risks, JPM says
** Increased competition from alternative payment options and potential changes in transaction take rates or payment network rules could pressure PayPal's unit economics, brokerage says** As of last close, FISV down 67.4% and PYPL down 28.3% YTD
(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru)
((Pragyan.Kalita@thomsonreuters.com))
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