PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) rose 1.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $41.60 and last traded at $40.81. Approximately 20,279,787 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 24,542,354 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.29.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deep value / contrarian thesis — Commentators note PYPL trades at single‑digit P/E and near IPO‑era prices, arguing the company still generates strong cash flow and could attract value investors if execution stabilizes. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Some buy‑side/independent analysts see upside — Several analysts and Seeking Alpha contributors argue PayPal’s Venmo/BNPL/PSP momentum and buybacks create an asymmetric risk/reward for longer‑term investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Debate over whether recent plunge is opportunity or structural decline — Coverage from retail‑investor outlets highlights split views between value hunters and those seeing secular headwinds; this keeps trading volatile. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Widespread securities‑lawsuit notices — Multiple law firms have filed/announced class actions alleging misstated growth guidance for a Feb 25, 2025–Feb 2, 2026 class period; these increase legal risk, potential costs and near‑term uncertainty (lead plaintiff deadline Apr 20). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 earnings miss + weak 2026 outlook and CEO turnover — Q4 EPS and revenue fell short of estimates and management announced a CEO transition, a combination that sparked the initial sell‑off and heightens execution risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst cuts and estimate pressure — Truist and others trimmed forecasts and lowered price targets citing slower TPV/volume and take‑rate compression, which weighs on near‑term sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Several SEC filings show recent insider sales (including a large sale by Suzan Kereere and CAO Chris Natali), which investors sometimes view as a negative signal when coupled with weak results. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on PYPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on PayPal from $67.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $50.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on PayPal from $50.00 to $32.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on PayPal from $91.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $38.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,993.40. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,213 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total transaction of $49,114.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,357.96. This trade represents a 75.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,304 shares of company stock worth $1,749,493. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534,462 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 27,953,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,874,637,000 after buying an additional 636,441 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $949,758,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,215,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $713,158,000 after buying an additional 1,083,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.6% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 11,992,031 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $891,248,000 after buying an additional 184,014 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Company Profile

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.