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Primecap Management Co. CA Raises Stock Position in PayPal Holdings, Inc. $PYPL

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Key Points

  • Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in PayPal by 2.1% to 6,680,930 shares (about 0.71% of the company), valued at roughly $448 million at the end of the quarter.
  • Reports that Stripe is in early talks to acquire PayPal triggered a trading halt and heavy call buying—boosting upside momentum—but short interest rose ~20% and ongoing class-action and regulatory probes add meaningful legal and execution risk.
  • PayPal's latest quarter missed estimates (EPS $1.23 vs. $1.29; revenue $8.68B vs. $8.82B), the consensus analyst rating is "Hold" with an average target of $61.03, and the company announced a $0.14 quarterly dividend (1.2% yield).
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Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,680,930 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 138,480 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.71% of PayPal worth $448,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PYPL. MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in PayPal by 100.4% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87,524 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of PayPal by 285.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 524 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Dagco Inc. grew its stake in PayPal by 1,250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Macquarie Infrastructure lifted their target price on shares of PayPal from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $42.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. HSBC downgraded PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.03.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on PYPL

Insider Activity at PayPal

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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,285,484.67. This represents a 54.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction 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 owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,304 shares of company stock worth $1,749,493. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PayPal Price Performance

PYPL stock opened at $47.32 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.46 and a 52-week high of $79.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $52.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.68.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal's payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Takeover chatter: Reports that Stripe is in early talks to buy some or all of PayPal triggered a volatility halt and heavy buying, pushing the stock higher as investors priced a potential acquisition premium. This is the primary bullish catalyst today. PayPal Stock Halted on Stripe Rumor: Why the Narrative Just Changed
  • Positive Sentiment: Options and volume flow: Large call buying and a spike in volume indicate institutional and speculative positioning around M&A expectations, amplifying upside momentum if deal-talks continue. Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of PayPal Call Options
  • Neutral Sentiment: Short interest rose materially in February (up ~20% to ~51.8M shares, ~5.6% of float; ~1.2 days to cover). That increases put/call dynamics and could both pressure the stock if fundamentals disappoint or accelerate a squeeze during takeover rumblings.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/strategy debate: Multiple commentaries argue PayPal is deeply undervalued based on cash flow and asset value (some bullish), while others caution execution risk — this keeps sentiment bifurcated and trading volatile. PayPal's Brutal Reset Hides A Cash Machine
  • Negative Sentiment: Multiple securities class-action notices and law-firm investor alerts surfaced (several firms), alleging disclosure problems tied to the past year’s performance; deadline to seek lead plaintiff is Apr 20, 2026. Legal risk can pressure the share price and increase uncertainty around any strategic process. PYPL SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Securities Fraud Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of PayPal Holdings, Inc. Investors
  • Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & disclosure probes: Firms are investigating PayPal’s disclosures around operating metrics after last year’s stock decline — adds execution and compliance risk that could complicate any M&A timetable or valuation. PayPal Investigation Focuses on Key Performance Metric Disclosures
  • Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution: Some firms have cut price targets and reiterated concerns about slowing branded-checkout growth and leadership turnover — bearish views could cap upside absent a formal bid. Wells Fargo Lowers PT on PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL)

About PayPal

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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