PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Shares Up 1.6% – Time to Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares traded up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $46.96 and last traded at $46.38. 22,329,468 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 27,195,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.63.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TCS Blockchain partnership — PayPal and TCS Blockchain launched a pilot to let carriers settle freight invoices using PayPal USD on blockchain rails, promising faster, cheaper settlement and transparency that could help drive new B2B flows for PayPal’s stablecoin and settle use‑case questions. PayPal and TCS Blockchain Modernize Logistics Payments
• Positive Sentiment: CellPoint Digital integration — PayPal is live in CellPoint’s payment‑orchestration platform, broadening merchant reach in travel and retail and lowering friction for PayPal acceptance globally. This supports payment volume growth without heavy new sales costs. CellPoint Digital and PayPal Partner to Expand Payment Choice and Flexibility for Global Travel and Retail Brands
• Neutral Sentiment: KGI / broker views — Brokers continue to assign mostly “hold/neutral” ratings; KGI reaffirmed a neutral stance with a $55 target (shows upside from current levels but not a buy conviction). Analysts’ mixed views limit conviction behind any rally. PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Given Neutral Rating at KGI Securities
• Neutral Sentiment: Buyout rumors continue to circulate — takeover chatter can support upside in volatile sessions but remains speculative and shouldn’t be treated as a catalyst until confirmed. PayPal Buyout Rumors
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/price targets mixed — Bernstein reaffirmed Market Perform with a ~$45 target, indicating limited upside at current levels and highlighting pricing‑power concerns. Bernstein Sees Limited Upside for PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) at Current Levels
• Negative Sentiment: Major wave of class‑action litigation — multiple law firms have filed suits or issued investor alerts alleging misstatements about growth and guidance; numerous lead‑plaintiff solicitations increase legal and remediation risk and can pressure sentiment and valuation. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Reminds Investors with Losses on their Investment in PayPal Holdings, Inc. of Class Action Lawsuit – PYPL
• Negative Sentiment: Structural and execution concerns — deeper analysis and commentary point to real structural issues (pricing pressure, branded‑checkout headwinds) that need resolution to restore higher growth expectations. PayPal: Real Structural Problems To Be Solved
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term pressure from market moves and analyst reactions — coverage notes intraday slips tied to broader market sell‑offs and cautious analyst notes that can amplify volatility. What’s Going On With PayPal Stock Today?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus lowered their price objective on PayPal from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $67.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of PayPal from $58.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.55.

PayPal Stock Up 1.6%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.43.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released 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 net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $139,815.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,993.40. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,213 shares of PayPal 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,357.96. The trade was a 75.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,304 shares of company stock worth $1,749,493. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 5,534,462 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 27,953,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,874,637,000 after buying an additional 636,441 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter valued at about $949,758,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in PayPal by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,215,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $713,158,000 after buying an additional 1,083,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in PayPal by 1.6% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 11,992,031 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $891,248,000 after buying an additional 184,014 shares in the last quarter. 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.