PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 3.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shot up 3.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.74 and last traded at $45.49. 21,229,711 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 24,999,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.01.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Venmo expands globally by connecting with PayPal’s network, allowing Venmo users to send/receive money with hundreds of millions of PayPal users across ~90 markets — materially increasing Venmo’s addressable market and the upside for cross-border P2P volume. Venmo Expands Reach of P2P Payments via PayPal Network
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting PayPal’s low valuation (single‑digit P/E) and “cheap” thesis is drawing investor interest — these narratives can attract value-oriented buyers and support near‑term share strength. PayPal: Mr. Market Is Ignoring Just How Cheap It Is
• Neutral Sentiment: Long‑term investor pieces reiterate PayPal’s compound value story and network effects — helpful for medium/long‑term sentiment but less likely to move short‑term fundamentals. Here’s How PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Compounds the Value Over the Long Term
• Negative Sentiment: Hagens Berman alerted investors to a securities class action tied to the CEO ouster and a multi‑billion dollar market‑cap drop — legal exposure and reputational risk could pressure multiples and create headline volatility. PYPL ALERT: Hagens Berman Alerts PayPal (PYPL) Investors to Securities Class Action
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple plaintiff law firms (Rosen, Schall and others) are soliciting investors and reminding them of an April 20 lead‑plaintiff deadline — proliferation of suits increases legal costs and distracts management. ROSEN Encourages PayPal Investors to Secure Counsel
• Negative Sentiment: Additional firm notices (Schall Law Firm reminder) repeat the same class‑action window and may keep legal headlines in the news cycle. Schall Law Firm: Opportunity to Lead PayPal Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.03.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $41.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $47.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.80.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The company had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is 10.35%.

Insider Activity at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total transaction of $1,560,563.37. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,484.67. This trade represents a 54.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $1,361,317.62. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in PayPal by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,157 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its position in PayPal by 8.7% during the second quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.5% during the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 2.9% during the third quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 1.1% in the second quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. 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.