PayPal Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PYPL)

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 269,314 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 70% compared to the average daily volume of 158,883 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,560,563.37. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,285,484.67. This trade represents a 54.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,213 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.49, for a total transaction of $49,114.37. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,357.96. This trade represents a 75.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 42,304 shares of company stock valued at $1,749,493 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PayPal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of PayPal by 15.2% in the fourth 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 period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth approximately $248,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in PayPal by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. United Bank grew 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 acquiring an additional 4,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 85.2% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Price Performance

NASDAQ:PYPL opened at $44.05 on Tuesday. PayPal has a 52 week low of $38.46 and a 52 week high of $79.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.93. The company has a market capitalization of $40.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 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 (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.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 previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that PayPal 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on PYPL shares. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of PayPal from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wolfe Research restated a “sell” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Monday. President Capital reduced their price objective on PayPal from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on PayPal from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.03.

More PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that PayPal has met with banks and is attracting unsolicited takeover interest (including at least one large rival considering a full bid) lifted sentiment by implying potential strategic alternatives or a buyout premium. Analysts Say PayPal Stock Slump Makes It Takeover Target
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets (Reuters, Yahoo Finance, The Motley Fool) amplified the takeover narrative, prompting buyers and providing near-term upside even as fundamentals remain mixed. PayPal attracts takeover interest after stock slide, Bloomberg News reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Market mechanics: PYPL traded with unusually high volume today and saw a ~70% jump in call option volume versus average, signaling speculative positioning around the takeover rumor and near-term volatility (could amplify moves in either direction).
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading was briefly halted due to an LULD pause, reflecting the stock’s sharp intraday move and potential for further volatile swings.
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal faces multiple securities class-action lawsuits alleging misstatements about outlook; several plaintiff firms have filed notices and deadlines for lead-plaintiff motions are pending — this raises potential legal costs and distraction for management. PYPL Investors Have Opportunity to Lead PayPal Holdings, Inc. Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Operational concern: a security lapse in PayPal Working Capital exposed PII for ~100 users (July–Dec), which could dent trust and invite regulatory scrutiny. PayPal Working Capital Security Lapse Exposes Data of 100 Users
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst / sentiment pressure: some sell‑side downgrades and critical writeups (e.g., Seeking Alpha reality‑check) point to slowing growth and a weaker outlook, supporting the view that the company’s fundamentals need repair even if M&A interest surfaces. PayPal’s Growth Story Is Dead: Here Is My 2026 Reality Check (Downgrade)

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.