PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 51,758,573 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the January 29th total of 43,016,293 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 41,591,411 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 5.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 5.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 41,591,411 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

PayPal Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ PYPL opened at $47.64 on Friday. PayPal has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $8.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. PayPal’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that PayPal will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a 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 other news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $621,960.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,837.66. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $1,361,317.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,113.34. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 87,608 shares of company stock valued at $3,831,535. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $949,758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in PayPal by 6.5% in the 4th 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 143.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,089,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $297,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998,286 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 2,160,227 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $156,532,000 after buying an additional 1,925,583 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Partnership expands PYUSD use case — PayPal announced a collaboration with TCS Blockchain to enable digital‑asset settlement of freight invoices, creating a concrete B2B revenue/volume path for PYUSD and invoice processing services. PayPal Joins Forces With TCS Blockchain
• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin narrative supportive — industry coverage notes PYUSD’s growing relevance as stablecoin supply concentrates among a few large players; that strengthens PayPal’s strategic case for wallet/stablecoin-led payment flows. Stablecoins Market Tightens as Tether and Circle Control 84% of Supply
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend supports income thesis — PayPal recently announced a quarterly dividend, which can modestly broaden the buyer base and signal capital-return discipline. MarketBeat PYPL Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: New analyst coverage but limited upside — Bank of America started coverage with a “neutral” rating and a $48 target; coverage brings attention but little conviction above current levels. How The Investment Story For PayPal Is Shifting
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate keeps shares volatile — multiple outlets are re‑evaluating PayPal after a sharp multi‑month reset; this drives trading but produces mixed buy/hold conclusions. Evaluating PayPal Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang — Several law firms have filed or solicited plaintiffs for securities class actions tied to PayPal’s guidance/earnings (lead‑plaintiff deadline Apr 20, 2026), creating potential costs, distraction and headline risk. Pomerantz Class Action Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — SEC filings show meaningful sales by senior executives (multiple recent sales reported), which can be read as a negative signal for near‑term insider confidence. Insider Selling Alerts
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings miss remains a drag — PayPal’s recent Q4 revenue and EPS miss that pushed shares to a 12‑month low is still cited by analysts and underpins cautious ratings and downward pressure until execution and guidance recover. Q4 Miss and Share Drop

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PYPL. HSBC downgraded shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on PayPal from $90.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on PayPal from $67.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded PayPal from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.03.

PayPal Company Profile

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.