PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 3.4% – What’s Next?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares shot up 3.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.74 and last traded at $45.49. 21,229,711 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 24,999,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.01.

PayPal News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal launched PayPal USD across 70 markets — expands its stablecoin/crypto rails and cross?border settlement options, a potential new revenue/engagement driver. PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Announces the Launch of PayPal USD Across 70 Markets
• Positive Sentiment: Venmo goes global — PayPal said Venmo will be available in 90 countries via PayPal integration, broadening user access and international payment volume potential. PayPal takes Venmo global
• Positive Sentiment: Alyssa Henry (ex?Square/Square’s Square business) joins PayPal’s board — adds payments product and merchant experience expertise; a governance/strategic positive amid leadership shakeups. Alyssa Henry to Join PayPal’s Board of Directors; Gail J. McGovern to Retire from Board
• Neutral Sentiment: New leveraged ETF exposure — Direxion launched a 2x daily ETF for PYPL, which can amplify flows and intraday volatility but doesn’t change fundamentals. Single Stocks Are Driving the Tape – Direxion Launches Four 2X Bull ETFs
• Neutral Sentiment: Market/valuation takes — several pieces urge reassessment of PayPal after the recent share price slide; signals investor debate over whether current levels reflect a buying opportunity or structural slowdown. Is It Time To Reassess PayPal (PYPL) After Its Recent Share Price Slide?
• Negative Sentiment: Widespread securities?class actions and lead?plaintiff solicitations — multiple law firms are filing/alerting investors after a surprise CEO ouster and withdrawal of long?term targets; this legal overhang has been cited in the recent market cap decline and raises potential litigation costs and management distraction. PYPL ALERT: Hagens Berman Alerts PayPal (PYPL) Investors to Securities Class Action Following CEO Ouster and $10B Market Cap Wipeout
• Negative Sentiment: Executive personal?liability claims — Levi & Korsinsky warns of Section 20(a) claims naming the CEO and CFO, amplifying downside legal risk and potential individual recoveries. LEVI & KORSINSKY, LLP: PYPL CEO AND CFO FACE PERSONAL LIABILITY IN SECURITIES ACTION
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish analyst/commentary — coverage such as “Don’t Buy PayPal Until These 3 Things Happen” highlights structural concerns (competition, growth execution) that could keep sentiment weak until clearer evidence of durable revenue/GMV recovery. Don’t Buy PayPal’s Stock Until These 3 Things Happen

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PYPL shares. President Capital cut their target price on PayPal from $91.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of PayPal from $91.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of PayPal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on PayPal from $90.00 to $63.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of PayPal in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.03.

PayPal Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $41.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.47.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PayPal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. PayPal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, EVP Frank Keller sold 29,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,113.34. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Suzan Kereere sold 13,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.02, for a total value of $621,960.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,837.66. This trade represents a 30.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 87,608 shares of company stock worth $3,831,535. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PayPal

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in PayPal during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of PayPal in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in PayPal by 15,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 460 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 68.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.