PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price shot up 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $45.96 and last traded at $44.85. 14,852,991 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 24,729,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.21.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Global push for PYUSD and crypto partnerships should support TPV and new rails for cross‑border flows — PayPal expanded PayPal USD to 70+ markets and integrated with Bybit EU under MiCA, plus a co‑branded rewards campaign to drive adoption. PayPal Expands PYUSD Globally As Board Shift Frames Valuation Question
• Positive Sentiment: Board talent upgrade — PayPal added former Square CEO Alyssa Henry to its board, which investors may view as operational/strategy expertise to help rebuild merchant and product initiatives. PayPal (PYPL) Stock Reacts as Company Welcomes Former Square CEO Alyssa Henry to Board
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation vs. growth — Analysts note PYPL trades at a low forward P/E (~8.2x) relative to peers, but weak guidance and competitive pressures leave upside uncertain; some firms rate the stock a “Hold.” PayPal Stock Trades Below Industry P/E: How to Play the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory spotlight — The FTC sent warning letters to PayPal (and other payments firms) about “debanking” practices; this raises policy/regulatory noise but no immediate enforcement action was announced. FTC warns PayPal, Visa, Mastercard and Stripe against debanking after Trump’s executive order
• Negative Sentiment: Surge of securities‑class‑action filings and solicitor outreach — Multiple law firms and notices (Hagens Berman, Rosen, others) are publicizing a class action tied to a management change and withdrawn guidance; that raises legal costs, distraction and near‑term uncertainty. PYPL ALERT: Hagens Berman Alerts PayPal (PYPL) Investors to Securities Class Action Following CEO Ouster and $10B Market Cap Wipeout
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership & guidance shock — Reports of a surprise CEO ouster and the withdrawal of long‑term targets have already erased material market value and amplified execution risk; that dynamic is the primary driver of weakness today. PYPL Investors Have Opportunity to Lead PayPal Holdings, Inc. Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on PayPal from $61.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stephens decreased their price target on PayPal from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $67.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.43.

PayPal Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.56 and a 200-day moving average of $58.28. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $40.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced 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 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 the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.35%.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total transaction of $1,560,563.37. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,484.67. This trade represents a 54.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total value of $98,763.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,140 shares in the company, valued at $50,992.20. The trade was a 65.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, 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 Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in PayPal by 41.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in PayPal by 40.1% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 17,388 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 4,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in PayPal during the second quarter worth $1,212,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.