Key Points
- Insider sale: Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares at an average of $41.49 for a total of $1,560,563.37, cutting her stake by 54.83% to 30,983 shares, per the SEC filing.
- Earnings and leadership hit: PayPal missed Q4 estimates (EPS $1.23 vs. $1.29; revenue $8.68B vs. $8.82B), and an abrupt CEO exit plus subsequent class‑action filings and insider selling have driven negative sentiment and volatility.
- Mixed valuation and analyst view: The stock trades at a low P/E (~7.8) with a market cap of ~$38.7B, yet analysts are split (consensus "Hold", average target $61.03) as the share price sits near its 1‑year low amid competing bullish/benign narratives.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) insider Suzan Kereere sold 37,613 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,560,563.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,484.67. The trade was a 54.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.
PayPal Trading Up 0.7%
Shares of PayPal stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.03. 6,679,558 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,733,688. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $53.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.37. PayPal Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.46 and a 1-year high of $79.50.
PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) 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 firm had revenue of $8.68 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
PayPal Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. PayPal's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.35%.
PayPal News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Deep value/contrarian case — Commentators note PYPL trades near IPO‑era levels with a single‑digit P/E and extreme oversold technicals, arguing the stock may be materially undervalued for a profitable, cash‑generating payments franchise. PayPal Is Back Near IPO‑Era Prices
- Positive Sentiment: Selective buy/contrarian analyst views — Some independent analysts and features argue PYPL’s Venmo/BNPL/PSP growth and cash flow plus buyback activity justify a buy at deeply discounted levels. PayPal's Growth Reset Makes Sense
- Neutral Sentiment: Mixed market narrative — Coverage is split: some see the post‑earnings ~20% sell‑off as a buying opportunity; others view it as confirmation of structural share loss and execution risk. That debate is keeping volatility high. How The Narrative Around PayPal Is Shifting
- Neutral Sentiment: Small partner integrations — Minor merchant/partner deals have been announced but offer limited near‑term material upside to PayPal’s core metrics. OLB Partnership Coverage
- Negative Sentiment: Earnings, guidance and CEO change drove the sell‑off — Q4 EPS ($1.23 vs. $1.29 est.), revenue miss and weak 2026 guidance, plus the abrupt CEO exit, are the primary catalysts behind the sharp drop in sentiment and stock price. Blockonomi: Insider Sells After Q4 Miss & CEO Change
- Negative Sentiment: Wave of securities‑fraud filings — Multiple law firms have announced class actions alleging disclosure failures for a defined class period, increasing legal overhang and potential costs. PR Newswire: DJS Law Group Notice
- Negative Sentiment: Insider selling / leadership turnover — Senior insiders (including a large sale by Suzan Kereere and a CAO sale) have reduced holdings shortly after the weak print, which investors often view as a negative signal. SEC Filing: Insider Transaction
- Negative Sentiment: Analyst cuts and sector competition — Firms like Truist trimmed estimates citing volume and take‑rate pressure; broader competition from Apple Pay, Stripe and others is cited as an ongoing headwind to branded checkout and margins. Truist Lowers Estimates
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have issued reports on PYPL. Compass Point raised PayPal from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of PayPal in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. President Capital lowered 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of PayPal from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PayPal presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.03.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on PYPL
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PayPal during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in PayPal by 15,233.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in PayPal during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in PayPal by 100.4% during the second quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 385 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in PayPal in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company's stock.
PayPal Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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