PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 2.5% – Time to Sell?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price was down 2.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $44.81 and last traded at $45.02. Approximately 17,508,216 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 26,094,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.16.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bullish investor view: A Seeking Alpha piece profiles an investor who says he will continue buying PYPL shares if the market stays “irrational,” arguing the company may be oversold and could offer value at current levels. PayPal: If The Market Stays Irrational, I’ll Keep On Buying More
• Positive Sentiment: Investor outreach: PayPal presented at the Wolfe Research FinTech Forum (transcript available) — management meetings and forum visibility can help restore confidence if guidance or messaging is constructive. PayPal Presents at Wolfe Research FinTech Forum Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: Several analysis pieces ask whether PYPL is a value opportunity or a “value trap” after prolonged share weakness — useful for investors assessing upside vs. operational risks. Is It Time To Revisit PayPal (PYPL) After Prolonged Share Price Weakness?
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive/merchant payments environment: A fintech article on tactical payment gateways for Shopify highlights ongoing friction between merchant needs and dominant processors (including PayPal), a reminder of competitive and regulatory pressures in payments. Tactical Payment Gateways for Shopify
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk spike — multiple law firms file notices and urge investors to seek lead‑plaintiff status in a securities class action covering Feb. 25, 2025–Feb. 2, 2026; the filings allege misstatements about revenue and growth and set an April 20, 2026 deadline for lead plaintiff motions. This concentrated wave of filings increases litigation overhang and potential remediation costs. PYPL Investors Have Opportunity to Lead PayPal Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: More plaintiff notices and an actual filed class action: Several firms (Bernstein Liebhard, Rosen, Faruqi & Faruqi, RGRD, Schall, Bronstein Gewirtz & Grossman, etc.) have issued alerts or announced suits — the volume of plaintiffs and media attention can pressure sentiment and liquidity while legal costs and potential settlements remain uncertain. Bernstein Liebhard: Securities Fraud Class Action Filed Against PayPal
• Negative Sentiment: Background fundamentals: PayPal’s most recent quarter slightly missed EPS and revenue estimates and the stock has underperformed technical moving averages (50‑day and 200‑day), which amplifies downside when combined with litigation headlines. PYPL Price & Recent Earnings Summary

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PYPL shares. HSBC cut PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.03.

PayPal Stock Down 2.5%

The firm has a market cap of $41.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.38.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 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 firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is currently 10.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In related news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,113.34. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total value of $98,763.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,992.20. This represents a 65.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $949,758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PayPal by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,276,205,000 after buying an additional 5,534,462 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 143.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,089,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $297,130,000 after buying an additional 2,998,286 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in PayPal by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,177,536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $548,520,000 after buying an additional 2,160,227 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PayPal by 1,066.0% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,106,215 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $156,532,000 after buying an additional 1,925,583 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.