PayPal's stock once again comes into the spotlight for investors. After being considered a major winner of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, with the stock temporarily reaching over $300, a significant drop followed. In the fall of 2023, the price temporarily fell below the $50 mark. However, the situation has since turned around.

On Wednesday, the PayPal stock marked a new one-year high at $72.77 USD. Despite the significant distance from the previous all-time high, investors can be pleased with a return of 20.08 percent over the past twelve months. A key driver of this development was the positive quarterly figures for the second quarter of 2024, which PayPal presented at the end of July.

Another Driver for the Recent Stock Price Increase is the New Partnership Between PayPal and the Dutch Payment Company Adyen. This Cooperation Highlights the Importance of PayPal's Fastlane Product, a Popular Checkout Tool for Online Shopping. Adyen is Now Offering Fastlane to its Corporate and Marketplace Clients in the USA, which Analysts Viewed Positively.

Dan Dolev, senior analyst for fintech equity research at Mizuho Securities USA, highlighted in a research note on August 20 the strength of Fastlane. He estimates the addressable market for the product to be up to $1.43 trillion and views the partnership with Adyen as a confirmation of PayPal’s market leadership. Dolev projects that PayPal’s transaction margins could increase by up to $1.5 billion thanks to Fastlane, indicating an upside potential of 5 to 10 percent. Accordingly, he reaffirmed his price target of $90 for PayPal stock.

In the broader fintech industry, Dolev also observes a shift as companies like Stripe unbundle their payment services to improve accessibility for merchants. He suggests that PayPal could take a similar approach, further promoting the adoption of Fastlane. "Investors should view PayPal as a platform for all types of payments," says Dolev.

In NASDAQ trading, the PayPal stock is currently listed 1.59 percent higher at 72.60 US dollars.