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

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price was up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $40.61 and last traded at $40.42. Approximately 34,750,555 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the average daily volume of 24,496,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.90.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deep-value case and buyback/dividend plan underpin a near-term bargain narrative; bulls point to low forward P/E, strong free cash flow and discretionary buybacks/new dividend as a potential floor. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors view a new CEO as a catalyst — profiles of Enrique Lores suggest his turnaround/operational experience could help execution if appointed. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish commentaries argue long-term investors can be rewarded if PayPal stabilizes its product growth and execution — fueling bargain-hunting bounces. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Compass Point moved to Neutral, reflecting that some uncertainty (CEO transition, guidance) is now priced in — not a clear buy/sell signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split: many cut targets and some keep “buy”/“outperform” calls, leaving consensus views mixed and volatility likely as estimates are re-worked. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results disappointed — EPS and revenue missed expectations and management issued lower 2026 guidance, which triggered the initial selloff and higher volatility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Alex Chriss was fired amid the branded-checkout slowdown and guidance cut; leadership turnover increases execution risk during a sensitive transition. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/litigation risk surfaced: a securities investigation was announced into the gap between prior outlook and reported results, adding legal and disclosure uncertainty. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy analyst price-target cuts, downgrades and visible insider selling amplified the selloff and investor caution this week. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PYPL. Dbs Bank dropped their price target on PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. HSBC lowered shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial set a $58.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.21.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.67. The company has a market capitalization of $37.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.47, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43.

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

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total transaction of $249,054.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,022.72. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total transaction of $615,303.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,486.71. This trade represents a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PayPal in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $921,570,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in PayPal by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in PayPal by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,177,536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $548,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,227 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 1,066.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,106,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $156,532,000 after buying an additional 1,925,583 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth about $97,794,000. 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.