PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) rose 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $61.83 and last traded at $61.25. 9,388,359 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 18,734,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.43.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded tuition-payment integrations: PayPal and Venmo are now available for tuition and fee payments through Illumia, Nelnet Campus Commerce and TouchNet, adding access to schools including Michigan State, Kansas State and Texas Tech. The initiative broadens PayPal’s everyday payment use cases and could increase transaction volume over time. PayPal and Venmo Expand to Tuition Payments
• Positive Sentiment: Takeover interest remains a catalyst: Reports indicated renewed discussions involving Stripe and Advent International regarding a potential PayPal transaction. Although no deal has been announced, the speculation may support PYPL’s valuation and reinforce investor interest in the company’s turnaround potential. PayPal Stock a Buy as Turnaround and Takeover Potential Grow
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst valuation is mixed: Piper Sandler raised its PayPal price target to $59 while retaining a Neutral rating, citing value beyond checkout but acknowledging execution questions. The target suggests limited upside at recent trading levels. Piper Sandler PayPal Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: New social-payment competition: TikTok is reportedly developing peer-to-peer payments through direct messages, potentially placing more pressure on Venmo and PayPal as social platforms expand into financial services. TikTok Building Venmo-Style Payment System
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution warnings: Jim Cramer cautioned that enthusiasm around several fintech stocks, including PayPal, may have pushed expectations too high. Investors remain focused on sluggish checkout growth, intense competition and whether the company can sustain its turnaround. Cramer Warns Fintech Bulls

Analyst Ratings Changes

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of PayPal from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of PayPal from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $46.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.28.

PayPal Stock Up 1.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $52.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $50.89 and its 200-day moving average is $47.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. PayPal had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 24.39%. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. PayPal’s payout ratio is presently 10.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 3,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.79, for a total transaction of $144,587.41. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,762.57. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.10, for a total value of $77,679.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,749.60. This trade represents a 37.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,612 shares of company stock valued at $484,534. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in PayPal by 15,233.3% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.