PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 1.5% on Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s share price was up 1.5% on Friday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $39.00 to $45.00. Truist Financial currently has a sell rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $50.59 and last traded at $50.48. Approximately 8,215,639 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 21,660,725 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.75.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on PYPL. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of PayPal from $91.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, KGI Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of PayPal in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,373,113.34. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,560,563.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,285,484.67. This represents a 54.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record PYUSD adoption and merchant crypto tools — PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin supply reportedly hit ~$4.3B and the firm is expanding Bitcoin payment options for U.S. merchants, a combination investors see as a new revenue avenue beyond core payments. Quiver Quantitative: PYPL Opinions on PayPal Beyond Event
• Positive Sentiment: New ad product could boost monetization — PayPal launched “Curated Ads” for connected TV and the open web to directly measure whether TV ads drive sales, expanding its growing advertising business and giving merchants measurable ROI. TipRanks: Curated Ads for CTV
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support tied to partnerships — Bank of America boosting its target (reported after the NFL deal) and other firms nudging targets higher reflect optimism that recent deals and product launches can drive revenue recovery. CoinCentral: BofA raises target to $55
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst coverage and valuations — several recent write-ups compare PYPL to peers (e.g., MA) and debate value vs. growth merits; median analyst target sits near $52, underscoring a split view. Yahoo Finance: PYPL vs MA valuation piece
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO initiates coverage at Market Perform — another large shop taking a neutral stance, which can temper upside expectations until clearer execution. MSN: BMO initiates coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy insider selling — Quiver Quant notes 23 insider open-market trades in the past six months, all sales and no buys, which investors often view as a red flag on near-term insider conviction. Quiver Quantitative: Insider trading summary
• Negative Sentiment: Large institutional reductions — multiple big managers (notably UBS AM and ClearBridge) trimmed positions materially in recent quarters, signaling continued portfolio rotation away from PYPL for some funds. Quiver Quantitative: Institutional holding changes
• Negative Sentiment: Contradictory analyst moves — Truist raised its target to $45 but retained a Sell rating (implying downside vs. some current levels), highlighting divergent views that can keep the stock volatile. Benzinga/The Fly: Truist target update

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 56,934 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,818,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,185 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,043 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PayPal Trading Up 1.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $45.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.33, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released 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). 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. PayPal’s payout ratio is 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.