PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading 2.6% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• PayPal's new leadership is reorganizing to make Venmo a standalone business and has launched PayPal Ads ID, moves that could unlock shareholder value by better monetizing transaction data and adding higher‑margin advertising revenue.
• Near‑term outlook remains a concern: the company recently missed EPS and revenue estimates, analysts expect Q1 declines, and Wall Street consensus is a Hold with mixed price targets (consensus ~$56.55 and notable cuts down to $41).
• Shares were up about 2.6% intraday near $51 with a market cap around $45.8B, a P/E of ~9.4 and a 1.1% yield, while insiders have been net sellers and institutional ownership is roughly 68%.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) shares traded up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $51.87 and last traded at $50.94. 18,314,169 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 21,303,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.64.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New CEO moves to carve Venmo out as a standalone business — reported reorganization would create separate segments and make Venmo easier to monetize or sell, potentially unlocking shareholder value and attracting strategic bidders. PayPal's new CEO makes Venmo a standalone business unit as potential buyers circle
• Positive Sentiment: Launch of PayPal Ads ID signals a push into commerce-grade advertising and identity services — could monetize PayPal/Venmo transaction data for ad targeting and measurement, adding a higher‑margin revenue stream beyond payments. PayPal Ads ID Debut Raises New Questions For Valuation And Earnings Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: BigCommerce integrates PayPal’s Store Sync to connect merchant catalogs to AI-powered discovery and checkout — expands distribution for PayPal’s commerce tools and ties the company into “agentic” AI shopping flows, supporting long‑term transaction growth. BigCommerce Bets on Agentic Commerce With Expanded PayPal Pact
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. Treasury adds PayPal and Venmo as options for debt‑reduction payments — a modest credibility and visibility boost that could drive incremental transaction volume and user engagement. U.S. Treasury Taps PayPal (PYPL) to Fight $39 Trillion National Debt
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed and the stock has underperformed recently — headline stories and roundups note significant share‑price decline over months, keeping valuation debate active among investors. PYPL Shares Slide 31.4% in 6 Months: Should You Buy the Dip or Sell?
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term earnings risk: previews and recent quarterly misses signal Q1 revenue/earnings pressure — analysts expect declines into the quarter, which could keep upside capped until results and updated guidance. Earnings Preview: Paypal (PYPL) Q1 Earnings Expected to Decline

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PYPL shares. HSBC lowered PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered PayPal from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $52.00 price target on PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.55.

PayPal Stock Up 2.6%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.27 and a 200-day moving average of $54.69. The company has a market capitalization of $45.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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). PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal's payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the business'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 $621,960.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,837.66. The trade was a 30.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total value of $98,763.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,992.20. The trade was a 65.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PYPL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 15.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PayPal in the fourth quarter worth about $248,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 41.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 40.1% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 17,388 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 4,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 17.9% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,909 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 2,865 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company's stock.

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.

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.