PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Stock Price Up 2.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price rose 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $42.00 to $48.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PayPal traded as high as $46.35 and last traded at $45.85. Approximately 14,946,549 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 23,213,693 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.87.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $60.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $58.00 to $39.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on shares of PayPal from $61.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total transaction of $1,361,317.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,113.34. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Chris Natali sold 2,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.73, for a total value of $98,763.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,992.20. The trade was a 65.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key PayPal News

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s expanding social‑commerce and AI ad efforts include a new PayPal one‑tap shopping/integrated payments partnership, which could boost transaction volume and merchant integrations for PYPL. Meta Platforms Gains 4%: Strong Ad Revenue Growth and PayPal Partnership Put the Stock Back in Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup raised PayPal’s price target to $48 (from $42) but kept a “neutral” rating — a modest vote of confidence that implies limited near‑term upside from current levels. Citigroup Adjusts Price Target on PayPal to $48 from $42, Maintains Neutral Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/market commentary is re‑examining PayPal after a prolonged share slump; these pieces frame PYPL as either a value opportunity or a structural risk, which can amplify volatility but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Is It Time To Reassess PayPal (PYPL) After Its Prolonged Share Price Slump?
• Negative Sentiment: PayPal disclosed a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized transactions and refunds to affected customers — a near‑term hit to trust and potential remediation costs that can pressure merchant and user activity. PayPal Cybersecurity Incident Tests Platform Resilience And Investor Valuation Case
• Negative Sentiment: A wave of securities‑fraud class action notices and lawsuits has been filed or publicized, with multiple firms reminding investors of April 20 deadlines — legal exposure and discovery costs could be material if suits proceed. PYPL CLASS ACTION NOTICE: Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Reminds PayPal (PYPL) Investors of Securities Class Action Deadline

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PYPL. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in PayPal by 15,233.3% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in PayPal during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.80.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a return on equity of 25.42% and a net margin of 15.77%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

PayPal Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. PayPal’s payout ratio is presently 10.35%.

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.