PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.61 and last traded at $40.42. Approximately 34,750,555 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 42% from the average daily volume of 24,496,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.90.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deep-value case and buyback/dividend plan underpin a near-term bargain narrative; bulls point to low forward P/E, strong free cash flow and discretionary buybacks/new dividend as a potential floor. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors view a new CEO as a catalyst — profiles of Enrique Lores suggest his turnaround/operational experience could help execution if appointed. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish commentaries argue long-term investors can be rewarded if PayPal stabilizes its product growth and execution — fueling bargain-hunting bounces. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Compass Point moved to Neutral, reflecting that some uncertainty (CEO transition, guidance) is now priced in — not a clear buy/sell signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split: many cut targets and some keep “buy”/“outperform” calls, leaving consensus views mixed and volatility likely as estimates are re-worked. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results disappointed — EPS and revenue missed expectations and management issued lower 2026 guidance, which triggered the initial selloff and higher volatility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Alex Chriss was fired amid the branded-checkout slowdown and guidance cut; leadership turnover increases execution risk during a sensitive transition. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/litigation risk surfaced: a securities investigation was announced into the gap between prior outlook and reported results, adding legal and disclosure uncertainty. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy analyst price-target cuts, downgrades and visible insider selling amplified the selloff and investor caution this week. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Compass Point raised shares of PayPal from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Dbs Bank dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.21.

PayPal Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $57.62 and a 200 day moving average of $64.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,022.72. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total value of $615,303.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,366,486.71. This represents a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its stake in PayPal by 100.4% during the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87,524 shares in the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in PayPal during the second quarter worth about $38,000. 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.