PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 1.6% – Here’s Why

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) rose 1.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $41.76 and last traded at $41.45. Approximately 17,897,811 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 24,335,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.81.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bullish valuation thesis argues PYPL is materially undervalued after the recent sell‑off; Seeking Alpha highlights durable businesses (Venmo, PSP, BNPL) and a $70 target despite short‑term uncertainty. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal announced a global partner agreement with OLB Group to integrate PayPal checkout/wallet into OLB’s gateway — incremental distribution that could modestly boost acceptance and volumes over time (more beneficial to OLB in the near term). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage piece on PayPal’s role in online casino payments — illustrates ongoing demand for digital payments but unlikely to move PYPL stock meaningfully on its own. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Numerous law firms have filed shareholder class actions or launched investigations alleging PayPal misstatements for the Feb 25, 2025–Feb 2, 2026 class period; multiple notices/lead‑plaintiff deadlines are being publicized — a legal overhang that can pressure the stock and increase potential litigation costs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal’s CEO exit coincided with disappointing quarterly results and guidance, prompting investor concern over timing and succession; activist/investor investigations and a leadership transition raise near‑term execution risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Truist cut estimates and slashed its PYPL price target to $39 (from $58), citing slower volume and take‑rate compression — a clear analyst downgrade that reinforces downward pressure on investor sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional selling: Gator Capital disclosed selling PYPL in Q4 2025 — another sign some funds are reducing exposure amid prolonged weakness. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Company fundamentals: Analysts note Q4 transaction revenue growth but a lower take‑rate and flat TM$ outlook for 2026, clouding growth prospects and validating earnings/multiple compression concerns. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Compass Point upgraded shares of PayPal from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on PayPal from $58.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.03.

PayPal Trading Up 1.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $38.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $54.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm 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 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.35%.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other PayPal news, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PayPal in the fourth quarter valued at about $949,758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,276,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 143.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,089,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $297,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,998,286 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in PayPal by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,177,536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $548,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 1,066.0% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,106,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $156,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,583 shares during the last quarter. 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.