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

Shares of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the forty-four brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirty have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.2105.

PYPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of PayPal from $64.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on PayPal from $61.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd.

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

PayPal Price Performance

Shares of PayPal stock opened at $46.21 on Monday. 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 has a twelve month low of $38.46 and a twelve month high of $79.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.31. The firm 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 (NASDAQ:PYPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PayPal will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s payout ratio is 10.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Frank Keller sold 3,478 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.20, for a total value of $139,815.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,072,993.40. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,357.96. This represents a 75.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 42,304 shares of company stock worth $1,749,493 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PayPal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $949,758,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,376,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,276,205,000 after buying an additional 5,534,462 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 143.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,089,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $297,130,000 after buying an additional 2,998,286 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of PayPal by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,177,536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $548,520,000 after buying an additional 2,160,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of PayPal by 1,066.0% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.