PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Down 2.7% – Time to Sell?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was down 2.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $44.34 and last traded at $44.36. Approximately 15,235,546 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 25,613,119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.57.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal joined Mastercard’s new Crypto Partner Program alongside Binance and Ripple, which can help expand PYUSD and payments integrations with merchants and banks — a potential long-term growth catalyst. Binance, Ripple, PayPal Join Mastercard’s 85+ Partner Crypto Initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell ~19% in late-February (to ~41.8M shares, ~4.5% of float), reducing one form of downward pressure and indicating fewer active large short bets on PYPL in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent intraday moves showed the stock rising in a soft market session, reflecting short-term volatility and headline sensitivity rather than a clear change in fundamentals. Paypal (PYPL) Rises As Market Takes a Dip: Key Facts
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities class-action lawsuits have been filed alleging that PayPal made material misstatements/omissions about revenue outlook and growth tied to the Feb. 3 earnings miss and CEO exit — a direct driver of today’s selling pressure and legal risk. PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Faces Securities Class Action Amid $9 Billion Market Cap Wipeout, CEO Departure — Hagens Berman
• Negative Sentiment: Numerous law firms (Kessler Topaz, Rosen, Pomerantz, Levi & Korsinsky, etc.) are soliciting lead-plaintiff applicants and reminding investors of an April 20, 2026 deadline — signaling significant, coordinated litigation activity that could increase settlement/defense costs and management distraction. ROSEN, GLOBAL INVESTOR RIGHTS COUNSEL, Encourages PayPal Holdings, Inc. Investors to Secure Counsel Before Important Deadline in Securities Class Action – PYPL
• Negative Sentiment: Counsel alerts emphasize potential individual liability for senior officers (CEO/CFO) and repeat allegations that prior disclosures were insufficient — increasing tail risk to shares and investor sentiment. SUEWALLST: PYPL CEO AND CFO FACE PERSONAL LIABILITY IN SECURITIES ACTION
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and opinion pieces flag valuation and execution concerns (e.g., “value trap” commentary), reflecting skepticism that current fundamentals justify the stock’s prior levels absent clearer growth signs. PayPal: A Classic Value Trap

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PYPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 price objective on PayPal in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on PayPal from $91.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.03.

PayPal Stock Down 2.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $40.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.46 and a 200 day moving average of $60.10. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PayPal news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,113.34. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $621,960.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,837.66. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in PayPal by 15,233.3% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of PayPal during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.