PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Short Interest Down 19.2% in February

Posted by Latisha Jones on Mar 15th, 2026

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL – Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 41,844,575 shares, a drop of 19.2% from the February 12th total of 51,758,573 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 30,662,510 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 30,662,510 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 4.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Compass Point upgraded shares of PayPal from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $90.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.03.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on PYPL

PayPal Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $44.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal has a one year low of $38.46 and a one year high of $79.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.75.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is currently 10.35%.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

Positive Sentiment: PayPal has been included in Mastercard’s new crypto partner program alongside firms like Binance and Ripple, which supports its PYUSD/stablecoin and payments roadmap and could help revenue diversification if partnerships scale. Binance, Ripple, PayPal join Mastercard’s 85+ partner crypto initiative
Positive Sentiment: Valuation looks attractive to some investors and analysts: recent coverage highlights a low P/E and price targets above current levels, which can attract value buyers if execution stabilizes. Why PayPal’s Rally Faded—And What Could Restart It
Neutral Sentiment: Macro and crypto market moves are creating mixed flows: regulatory alignment between the CFTC and SEC and episodic crypto volatility are shaping sentiment for payments/crypto plays like PayPal. This is a backdrop rather than an immediate company-specific catalyst. Crypto Currents: CFTC affirms crypto oversight alignment with SEC
Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities class-action filings and numerous law‑firm alerts allege PayPal misled investors about growth and guidance (class period cited Feb 25, 2025–Feb 2, 2026). Firms are soliciting lead‑plaintiff motions with an April 20, 2026 deadline — this litigation wave increases legal risk, potential costs, and investor uncertainty. PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Faces Securities Class Action Amid $9 Billion Market Cap Wipeout, CEO Departure — Hagens Berman
Negative Sentiment: Competition and management turnover remain immediate execution risks: coverage notes weak Feb results, cautious guidance, and the CEO departure — all drivers behind the recent selloff and continued skepticism until clear operational improvement is shown. Why PayPal’s Rally Faded—And What Could Restart It
Negative Sentiment: High-profile commentary suggests competitive pressure from other payment/fintech platforms and actions by industry figures (e.g., Elon Musk) could further compress PayPal’s growth in key consumer/payment corridors. Elon Musk just made things uncomfortable for PayPal and Cash App

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,140 shares in the company, valued at $50,992.20. This represents a 65.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of PayPal 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,113.34. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisortrust Partners LLC bought a new stake in PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at $368,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PayPal by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 309,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,046,000 after purchasing an additional 14,519 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 908,686 shares during the period. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at $111,000. Finally, AG Campbell Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.