PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 3.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) traded up 3.1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.37 and last traded at $40.29. 25,036,937 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 24,682,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.08.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal announced an agentic-AI travel partnership with Sabre and Mindtrip to integrate payments, identity and AI-driven booking — a strategic product win that supports long-term monetization of Venmo and payments flow. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media comparisons with rivals (Block et al.) highlight that PayPal has AI and Venmo momentum but faces execution risks and a checkout slowdown — useful context for investors weighing relative valuations and growth trajectories. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms (Kessler Topaz; Pomerantz) have opened securities investigations into PayPal, increasing legal/settlement risk and investor uncertainty. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst actions are turning bearish: Zacks moved PYPL to a “Strong Sell” and individual downgrades plus a Daiwa price-target cut to $42 signal lower near-term estimates and pressure on sentiment. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Media coverage highlights a sharp YTD selloff and an “execution crisis” as a new CEO transition looms after a weak Q4 (EPS/revenue misses and cautious 2026 outlook), which has amplified retail bearishness and downward price momentum. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. KGI Securities dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of PayPal from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.03.

PayPal Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $37.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.42.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.35%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,854,022.72. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $139,815.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its stake in PayPal by 100.4% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87,524 shares during the period. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in PayPal during the third quarter worth $30,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in PayPal in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

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.