Stock Market Today, Feb. 23: PayPal Jumps After Reports of Takeover Interest From Major Rival
PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), a digital payments platform for merchants and consumers worldwide, closed Monday at $44.05, up 5.76%. The stock climbed after reports of unsolicited takeover interest, and investors are watching for any formal M&A proposals or responses from the board. Trading volume reached 75.3 million shares, about 258% above its three-month average of 21 million shares. PayPal IPO'd in 2015 and has grown 20% since going public.
How the markets moved today
S&P 500 fell 1.01% to 6,840, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.13% to 22,627 as major benchmarks ended Monday lower. Within financial technology, peer Adyen closed at $11.17, down 5.42%, underscoring divergent reactions as investors reassess digital payments growth and competitive positioning.
What this means for investors
Three weeks after naming Enrique Lores as its new CEO, PayPal (or some of its subsidiaries) has become the subject of takeover rumors from at least one rival or banking peer, according to Bloomberg. Its share price is down 44% in the last year and 86% below its all-time high, so it makes sense it’d be the target of a buyout, especially trading at just 7.7 times free cash flow.
Operating in a brutally competitive payments industry, the market is virtually pricing the stock for death, despite PayPal’s revenue and net income reaching new highs. I’m happy to keep holding my PayPal shares as management buys back stock hand over fist. If a deal comes, that’s great, but it’s not a reason to double down right now, in and of itself.
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Josh Kohn-Lindquist has positions in PayPal. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Adyen and PayPal. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short March 2026 $65 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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