PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares closed higher on Thursday as deal chatter continued around a potential sale process.
- PayPal Holdings shares are trending higher. Why are PYPL shares climbing?
What Is Driving PayPal’s Stock Higher?
A recent report says Stripe and Advent International are in talks to buy PayPal after a July proposal of $60.50 per share was viewed as too low, with negotiations now centered on a potentially higher price.
The same report said a deal could come together within weeks (though not guaranteed) and that the earlier $60.50 proposal valued PayPal at roughly $53 billion.
New Higher Education Integrations Support Core Expansion
PayPal meanwhile announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its footprint into higher education payments. Through new integrations with major campus payment processors, including Illumia, Nelnet Campus Commerce and TouchNet, students and families can now pay tuition and university fees directly using PayPal and Venmo.
Critical Levels To Watch for PYPL Stock
From a trend perspective, PayPal is extended to the upside: it’s trading about 6% above its 20-day SMA ($59.06) and more than 21% above both its 50-day SMA ($51.61) and 200-day SMA ($51.48). That "air pocket" versus the longer moving averages can keep momentum traders interested, but it also raises the odds of sharper pullbacks if the deal narrative cools.
RSI is the cleaner momentum read right now, sitting at 75.32, which signals the move is getting stretched and buyers may be chasing. RSI measures how "overheated" a rally is versus recent price action, and readings above 70 often line up with consolidation or a reset rather than a straight-line continuation.
- Key Resistance: $63 — Nearby round-number area where upside attempts can stall.
- Key Support: $58 — Nearby level that sits close to the 20-day area and a spot buyers have recently defended.
PayPal Holdings Benzinga Edge Scorecard Breakdown
Below is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for PayPal, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses compared to the broader market:
- Momentum: Bullish (Score: 82.51) — The stock is showing strong relative strength versus the broader market, consistent with its position above key moving averages.
- Quality: Neutral (Score: 45.59) — Fundamentals screen as middle-of-the-pack, so price action is doing more of the work than a "quality premium" narrative.
- Value: Strong (Score: 71.75) — The setup leans value-friendly on this model, which can matter if the market stays choppy and investors rotate toward cheaper cash-flow stories.
- Growth: Neutral (Score: 32.35) — Growth is the weaker pillar here, which can cap upside if the market shifts back to paying up for faster growers.
The Verdict: PayPal’s Benzinga Edge signal reveals a momentum-driven story with supportive value characteristics. The main near-term risk is that the chart is stretched (overbought RSI), so traders may want to see whether strength holds above the $58.00 support zone on any pullback.
Price Action for PYPL Stock Today
PYPL Stock Price Activity: PayPal Holdings shares closed higher by 1.71% to $62.30 Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Image: Shutterstock