PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 40,275,691 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 64% from the previous session’s volume of 24,593,861 shares.The stock last traded at $44.7910 and had previously closed at $41.65.

Trending Headlines about PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Takeover chatter: Reports that Stripe is in early talks to buy some or all of PayPal triggered a volatility halt and heavy buying, pushing the stock higher as investors priced a potential acquisition premium. This is the primary bullish catalyst today. PayPal Stock Halted on Stripe Rumor: Why the Narrative Just Changed
• Positive Sentiment: Options and volume flow: Large call buying and a spike in volume indicate institutional and speculative positioning around M&A expectations, amplifying upside momentum if deal-talks continue. Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of PayPal Call Options
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest rose materially in February (up ~20% to ~51.8M shares, ~5.6% of float; ~1.2 days to cover). That increases put/call dynamics and could both pressure the stock if fundamentals disappoint or accelerate a squeeze during takeover rumblings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/strategy debate: Multiple commentaries argue PayPal is deeply undervalued based on cash flow and asset value (some bullish), while others caution execution risk — this keeps sentiment bifurcated and trading volatile. PayPal’s Brutal Reset Hides A Cash Machine
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities class-action notices and law-firm investor alerts surfaced (several firms), alleging disclosure problems tied to the past year’s performance; deadline to seek lead plaintiff is Apr 20, 2026. Legal risk can pressure the share price and increase uncertainty around any strategic process. PYPL SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Securities Fraud Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of PayPal Holdings, Inc. Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & disclosure probes: Firms are investigating PayPal’s disclosures around operating metrics after last year’s stock decline — adds execution and compliance risk that could complicate any M&A timetable or valuation. PayPal Investigation Focuses on Key Performance Metric Disclosures
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution: Some firms have cut price targets and reiterated concerns about slowing branded-checkout growth and leadership turnover — bearish views could cap upside absent a formal bid. Wells Fargo Lowers PT on PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PYPL. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $42.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Compass Point upgraded PayPal from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on PayPal from $67.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.03.

PayPal Trading Up 0.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.68. 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 (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.35%.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,560,563.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,285,484.67. The trade was a 54.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,072,993.40. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 42,304 shares of company stock worth $1,749,493 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth $1,603,000. SG Trading Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $261,000. Titan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $1,347,000. Floyd Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $1,468,000. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in PayPal by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 4,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.