PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 1.5% – Still a Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price shot up 1.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $56.33 and last traded at $55.89. 15,070,625 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 15,945,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.08.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Political/macro relief eased trade‑war uncertainty, helping growth and payment stocks rally; PayPal jumped after President Trump’s post appeared to shelve a fresh tariff threat. PayPal (PYPL) Stock Jumps As Trump Shelves Tariff Threat
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal announced a partnership with april to offer free DIY federal and state tax filing for U.S. PayPal Debit Mastercard customers — a low‑cost consumer benefit that can deepen engagement and card use. PayPal Introduces Free DIY Tax Filing for PayPal Debit Card Customers
• Positive Sentiment: Giftcards.com expanded access to digital gift cards across PayPal, including a 5% cashback offer on eligible purchases — another small revenue/volume driver and a consumer retention tactic. Giftcards.com Expands Access to Digital Gift Cards Across PayPal
• Neutral Sentiment: Feature and strategy deep dives argue PayPal has long‑term optionality (AI commerce, product bundling), but these are multi‑quarter stories rather than immediate earnings drivers. What Offers PayPal (PYPL) a Meaningful Long-Term Optionality?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst comparisons (e.g., PayPal vs. Upstart) highlight differing AI growth vectors — useful for positioning but not a direct short‑term price mover. PayPal vs. Upstart: Which Fintech Stock is the Better Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Wedgewood Partners trimmed its PayPal stake — a possible signal of institutional caution and a headwind for sentiment if other funds follow. Wedgewood Partners trimmed its holdings in PayPal Holdings (PYPL)
• Negative Sentiment: Several bearish/defensive pieces note PayPal’s recent share‑price weakness and cautious near‑term outlook after multi‑year lows, keeping downside risk front of mind for investors. PayPal: Outlook After Hitting 5-Year Low

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PYPL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 5th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. KGI Securities dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down previously from $93.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $84.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.84.

PayPal Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.46. The company has a market capitalization of $52.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.14. PayPal had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 25.64%. The company had revenue of $8.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. PayPal has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.270-1.310 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.390 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PayPal news, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total value of $615,303.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,366,486.71. This trade represents a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.87, for a total transaction of $860,875.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,799.21. This represents a 28.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 36,156 shares of company stock valued at $2,432,524 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Provident Living Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $498,000. Oak Thistle LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 48,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 15,086 shares in the last quarter. DMC Group LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 12,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. SRH Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. SRH Advisors LLC now owns 4,772 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Landaas & Co. WI ADV purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal’s platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal’s portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree’s developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.