PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $45.47 and last traded at $45.23. 11,175,078 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 24,104,965 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.67.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded European merchant access — PayPal deepened its Nexi partnership to embed PayPal wallet and checkout across Nexi’s merchant platform in Europe, a tangible channel for revenue and merchant adoption growth. PayPal Nexi Tie Up Tests Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Loop Capital started coverage with a Hold and $46 target, flagging execution and margin risks while noting potential upside if branded checkout stabilizes — a cautious analyst view that keeps expectations near the current price. Loop Capital Initiates Coverage on PayPal
• Neutral Sentiment: Some trading/technical commentary highlights a low P/E and cash-flow upside if growth stabilizes, which supports a value-oriented case; sentiment remains mixed among traders and value investors. PayPal Stock Opinions on Loop Capital Coverage (QuiverQuant)
• Negative Sentiment: New and expanded securities class-action filings: multiple firms (Labaton Keller Sucharow, Pomerantz, Hagens Berman, Glancy, Rosen, Levi & Korsinsky, Kessler Topaz and others) have filed or solicited lead plaintiffs alleging misleading statements around growth and guidance — this raises legal costs, distraction and reputational risk. Labaton Keller Sucharow Announces Expanded Securities Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Management shakeup and withdrawn long-term targets have amplified uncertainty — coverage and news pieces link the CEO ouster and target withdrawal to the spike in litigation and the recent $10B market-cap decline. PayPal Lawsuits And CEO Shakeup Put Focus On Valuation Gap
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and results pressure: recent coverage and market commentary point to a weak Q4 and missed estimates, plus notable insider selling and large institutional reductions in Q4 — factors that can sustain downward price pressure until clarity on growth and management is restored. Here’s Why the PayPal (PYPL) Stock is Still Crashing Today

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $50.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.11.

PayPal Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $41.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.63 and its 200-day moving average is $57.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total value of $98,763.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,992.20. This trade represents a 65.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $621,960.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,837.66. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

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