PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the forty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirty have issued a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.2105.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PYPL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on PayPal from $91.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,560,563.37. Following the sale, 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $139,815.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,072,993.40. This represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 42,304 shares of company stock valued at $1,749,493 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the 4th quarter valued at about $949,758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PayPal by 143.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,089,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $297,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,998,286 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in PayPal by 35.9% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,177,536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $548,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in PayPal by 1,066.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,925,583 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

NASDAQ PYPL opened at $46.21 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $42.54 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.43. PayPal has a twelve month low of $38.46 and a twelve month high of $79.50.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its 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). The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

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

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg/Yahoo reported that Stripe has expressed interest in all or parts of PayPal, reviving takeover speculation and short‑term buying interest from traders hoping for a strategic bid. PayPal Surges on Stripe Acquisition Interest
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal, MoonPay and M0 announced PYUSDx, a developer‑facing platform to issue app‑specific stablecoins backed by PayPal USD — a product extension that could broaden crypto rails and new revenue channels if adoption follows. PayPal, MoonPay and M0 launch PYUSDx
• Neutral Sentiment: Follow‑up reporting (Semafor/TechCrunch) says PayPal may not be actively pursuing a sale and that no formal talks are underway — this tempers deal hopes and makes the takeover angle speculative until confirmed. PayPal might not be looking to sell itself, report
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have filed or are soliciting plaintiffs in securities class actions against PayPal (lead‑plaintiff deadlines around Apr. 20), creating litigation over disclosures that can pressure the stock and increase potential settlement risk. PYPL Shareholder Action Reminder — Faruqi & Faruqi
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and independent writeups point to slowing growth, rising credit losses, weaker free cash flow and guidance that disappointed investors — narratives that undercut a sustainable multiple expansion. PayPal: A Textbook Value Trap (Seeking Alpha)
• Negative Sentiment: Sell ratings and critical notes (e.g., Morgan Stanley / TipRanks coverage) highlight competitive pressure (Braintree economics, Venmo monetization) and an unattractive risk/reward that can keep selling pressure under any rally. Sell Rating on PayPal — TipRanks

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.