PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 40,275,691 shares changed hands during 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.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that PayPal has attracted takeover interest—buyers range from large rivals to private-equity firms—are being priced as a bullish catalyst because a buyout or asset sales could put a floor under the stock after a sharp multi‑year decline. PayPal attracts takeover interest
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary pieces argue a sale would be value-accretive—private equity or strategic buyers may see more value than PayPal’s current market cap, which supports further upside on takeover speculation. PayPal’s stock pops on takeover hopes
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call-option volume (roughly a 70% jump versus typical daily call volume) signals traders are positioning for a continued rally or takeover premium, adding momentum to the move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading was temporarily halted mid‑day due to an LULD pause, reflecting the sudden volatility and high order flow around the takeover headlines.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market reaction also follows recent management changes (CEO-related headlines). Leadership shifts can both raise strategic-sale odds and add near‑term execution uncertainty. PayPal Stock Up Monday Despite CEO Shake-Up
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal disclosed a Working Capital security lapse that exposed personally identifiable information for ~100 customers over several months—this raises operational and reputational risk and could lead to regulatory scrutiny or remediation costs. PayPal Working Capital Security Lapse Exposes Data of 100 Users
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or are soliciting plaintiffs for securities class actions alleging misstatements about outlook and growth—ongoing litigation risk could pressure the stock and create legal expenses. Class action notice
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts recently cut ratings or lowered outlooks citing slower growth and a weak near‑term outlook; that underlying business weakness is why takeover chatter matters (acquirers may target parts of the business), and it keeps execution risk elevated. Analyst downgrade / lowered outlook

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on shares of PayPal from $61.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of PayPal from $62.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on PayPal from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PayPal currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.03.

PayPal Trading Up 5.8%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.43. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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). PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. PayPal’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.35%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total transaction of $49,114.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 404 shares in the company, valued at $16,357.96. This represents a 75.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total transaction of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. The trade was a 6.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,304 shares of company stock valued at $1,749,493. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in PayPal by 15,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 100.4% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87,524 shares during the period. Finally, Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 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.