PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $46.36 and last traded at $46.97. Approximately 15,860,678 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 26,381,354 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.64.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PYUSD gains concrete B2B use case — PayPal announced a partnership to settle freight invoices via its PYUSD stablecoin, which could expand transaction volume and monetization opportunities if adoption broadens. PayPal and TCS Blockchain Modernize Logistics Payments
• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin narrative supports strategic rationale — Industry coverage notes PYUSD’s relevance as the stablecoin market concentrates, reinforcing PayPal’s product strategy. Stablecoins Market Tightens as Tether and Circle Control 84% of Supply
• Neutral Sentiment: New coverage provides limited conviction — Bank of America began coverage with a “neutral” rating and a $48 PT, signaling little near‑term upside from current levels. Bank of America Initiates Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate keeps shares volatile — Multiple pieces re‑evaluate PYPL after a sharp multi‑month reset; this sustains trading interest but produces mixed analyst views. Evaluating PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang and CEO change — Multiple securities class actions have been filed after Q4 results and PayPal’s withdrawal of its 2027 targets plus a CEO replacement; this raises settlement, cost, and execution‑credibility risks. PayPal Lawsuits And CEO Exit Shift Focus To Growth Credibility
• Negative Sentiment: Heightened legal solicitations — Multiple law firms are soliciting lead‑plaintiff candidates and filing class‑action notices, keeping the litigation story active through the April 20 lead‑plaintiff deadline. DEADLINE ALERT – Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz
• Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest and insider selling — Reports show increased short interest and recent sizable insider dispositions by senior executives, which can amplify downward pressure and signal internal skepticism. PayPal Sees Large Growth in Short Interest Insider Selling: PayPal Insider Sells
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and execution concerns persist — Several sell/hold re‑ratings and commentary calling PayPal a potential “value trap” follow the Q4 revenue and EPS miss, keeping analyst tone cautious. PayPal: Cheap For Good Reason (Rating Downgrade)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PYPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho set a $60.00 price target on PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. President Capital decreased their price target on PayPal from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Compass Point upgraded 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. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.03.

PayPal Stock Down 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $43.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $50.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.79.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted 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 business had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is 10.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total transaction of $98,763.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,140 shares in the company, valued at $50,992.20. The trade was a 65.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $1,361,317.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,113.34. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 over the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in PayPal by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,958,644 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $172,943,000 after buying an additional 908,686 shares in the last quarter. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at about $111,000. AG Campbell Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of PayPal by 15,233.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.