PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Short Interest Update

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 41,844,575 shares, a decrease of 19.2% from the February 12th total of 51,758,573 shares. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 30,662,510 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 30,662,510 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Contrarian bullish takes point to a materially compressed valuation and upside if growth stabilizes; 24/7 Wall St. outlines how the stock could double from current depressed earnings multiples and ROE metrics, arguing the market may be overshooting the downside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Value-investor interest: Artisan Partners’ investor letter highlights PayPal among opportunities for undervalued companies, signaling institutional attention from value managers that could support the stock if fundamentals improve. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat explains why a short-lived rally (fueled by takeover speculation) has faded and says the next earnings report in May is the key near-term catalyst — strong execution could restart the move, but guidance and branded-checkout trends will be watched closely. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/commentary pieces (e.g., Seeking Alpha’s “Not Broken Enough To Sell”) argue the business model still has value and that the sell-off may be overdone, but stress that recovery depends on measurable improvements in growth and margins. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or announced class actions alleging securities-law violations covering Feb. 25, 2025–Feb. 2, 2026; Bronstein, Portnoy, Robbins Geller and Rosen (among others) are soliciting lead plaintiffs and highlighting potential investor claims — this raises legal risk, potential costs, and added headline volatility. Read More. Read More. Read More. Read More.

PayPal Stock Performance

PYPL stock traded up $0.73 on Monday, hitting $45.63. The company had a trading volume of 7,992,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,022,441. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. PayPal has a 12-month low of $38.46 and a 12-month high of $79.50. The stock has a market cap of $42.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.68.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,113.34. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in PayPal during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PayPal during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 15,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PYPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of PayPal from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of PayPal in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho set a $60.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.03.

PayPal Company Profile

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.