PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 1.3% After Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price rose 1.3% on Monday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $55.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $51.51 and last traded at $51.46. Approximately 12,149,286 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 22,252,127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.81.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wolfe Research restated a “sell” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 price objective on PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, KGI Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PayPal has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.39.

Insider Transactions at PayPal

In related news, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,992.20. This represents a 65.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,560,563.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,484.67. This represents a 54.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal signed a multi-year deal to become the NFL’s official peer-to-peer (P2P) payments partner — the integration aims to put PayPal front-and-center for fan payments, splits and in‑app social experiences, which could boost P2P engagement and monetization over time. PYPL Stock Pops Past $50 as PayPal Locks Down NFL Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Renewed investor activism/speculation and high-profile buying are lifting sentiment — reports of activist interest, swap positioning by SG Americas and Michael Burry opening a new position have fueled takeover/strategic-change hopes that can re-rate the stock if they lead to board or management actions. Is PayPal an Acquisition Target? How to Play PYPL Stock Right Now Amid Activist Investor Rumors. PayPal Stock Is Down More Than 80% Over The Past 5 Years. Michael Burry Is Buying The Dip.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $55 (from $48) but kept a neutral rating — a modest positive for sentiment, but the firm stopped short of an outright buy endorsement. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and screens are labeling PayPal as an undervalued/recovery candidate, which can attract long-only value buyers but won’t move results-driven traders until execution improves. Five Value Stocks with Recovery Potential in 2026: PayPal (PYPL)
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho downgraded PayPal citing competitive threats from X Money and related platform risk — analysts pointing to new entrants can pressure estimates and valuation multiples if market share or pricing is at risk. PayPal (PYPL) Stock Faces Pressure as Mizuho Downgrades on X Money Threat
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and downgrade themes persist — a Seeking Alpha piece recommends a cautious hold amid execution concerns, and prior management turnover, guidance misses and shareholder suits remain overhangs that could limit multiple expansion. PayPal: Still Holding On For Dear Life, A Cautious Hold (Downgrade)

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in PayPal by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the fourth quarter worth $248,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 41.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the period. United Bank increased its position in shares of PayPal by 40.1% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 17,388 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 4,974 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of PayPal by 17.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,909 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,865 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Up 0.7%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.51. 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 market cap of $46.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.40.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.35%.

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.