PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 40,275,691 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 64% from the previous session’s volume of 24,593,861 shares.The stock last traded at $44.7910 and had previously closed at $41.65.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that PayPal has attracted takeover interest—buyers range from large rivals to private-equity firms—are being priced as a bullish catalyst because a buyout or asset sales could put a floor under the stock after a sharp multi‑year decline. PayPal attracts takeover interest
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary pieces argue a sale would be value-accretive—private equity or strategic buyers may see more value than PayPal’s current market cap, which supports further upside on takeover speculation. PayPal’s stock pops on takeover hopes
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call-option volume (roughly a 70% jump versus typical daily call volume) signals traders are positioning for a continued rally or takeover premium, adding momentum to the move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading was temporarily halted mid‑day due to an LULD pause, reflecting the sudden volatility and high order flow around the takeover headlines.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market reaction also follows recent management changes (CEO-related headlines). Leadership shifts can both raise strategic-sale odds and add near‑term execution uncertainty. PayPal Stock Up Monday Despite CEO Shake-Up
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal disclosed a Working Capital security lapse that exposed personally identifiable information for ~100 customers over several months—this raises operational and reputational risk and could lead to regulatory scrutiny or remediation costs. PayPal Working Capital Security Lapse Exposes Data of 100 Users
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or are soliciting plaintiffs for securities class actions alleging misstatements about outlook and growth—ongoing litigation risk could pressure the stock and create legal expenses. Class action notice
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts recently cut ratings or lowered outlooks citing slower growth and a weak near‑term outlook; that underlying business weakness is why takeover chatter matters (acquirers may target parts of the business), and it keeps execution risk elevated. Analyst downgrade / lowered outlook

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC cut shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Dbs Bank upgraded PayPal to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $48.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.03.

PayPal Stock Up 5.8%

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.10. The company has a market cap of $40.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total transaction of $1,560,563.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,285,484.67. This represents a 54.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,072,993.40. This represents a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 42,304 shares of company stock worth $1,749,493 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in PayPal by 15,233.3% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its holdings in PayPal by 100.4% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 87,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC acquired a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is 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.