I’ve always considered PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) a no-brainer investment. Advancing technologies has impacted every aspect of our lives. It’s only natural that we see the same development in the financial sector. This is part of the reason why bitcoin and the blockchain soared in popularity. But if you don’t like bitcoin’s volatility, you have PayPal stock.

This has been a surefire bet ever since PYPL split off from eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY). But this year, things are getting off to a slow start. Since the January opener, PayPal stock only gained 2.2%. To be fair, the payment processor and digital wallet company has outperformed the Nasdaq index and its many tech competitors. But against its meteoric 2017 performance, PayPal is disappointing.

So I’m going to state an uncharacteristic idea about PayPal stock: if you already made significant profits, it’s time to take some off the table. If you’re considering buying shares, stay on the sidelines for just a little bit.

Fundamentally, I’m not worried about PayPal stock. What I am concerned about is the broader market stability. We have multiple domestic controversies, as well as geopolitical flashpoints. Clearly, Wall Street has apprehensions; otherwise, the major indices wouldn’t be as volatile as they are.

Moreover, against this backdrop, PYPL stock appears to be forming a bearish head-and-shoulders pattern. And unlike “run of the mill” head-and-shoulders, this one is occurring at the top of a very impressive rally.

I understand that a significant portion of the investing community think technical analysis is a bunch of hocus-pocus. While some technicians have undoubtedly abused the discipline, it may not be coincidence that this commonly cited reversal pattern has developed at this juncture.

Is the Awesomeness in PayPal stock Priced in?

Before I get into why investors should be careful with PayPal stock, please note again that I’m not changing my overall, longer-term thesis. My hesitation is strictly based on tactical considerations.

However, I’m not just looking at the technical charts, which admittedly are open to multiple interpretations. Rather, the current fundamentals may not justify a near-doubling in the PayPal stock price, as we saw last year.

In the final quarter of 2017, PYPL had 227 million active users, which I find unsurprising. The platform is ultra-convenient, and allows you to conduct business across international borders.

More impressively, PayPal witnessed an acceleration in user growth rates. In 2017, year-over-year growth averaged 12.7%, Contrast this with 2016, where the metric was just under 11%.

However, the company’s peer-to-peer payment platform, Venmo, has enjoyed a less robust growth curve. Although Venmo leverages an impressive payment volume of $10.4 billion, its phenomenal YOY growth has declined significantly.

Now, we have two ways of looking at this data. First, the $10.4 billion figure in the fourth quarter of 2017 represents an 86% increase over the year-ago quarter. On an absolute scale, this is a remarkable haul. But on the other hand, volume growth in 2016 averaged 137%. Last year, it averaged 97%. Clearly, extreme enthusiasm is waning.

Should investors still be excited about PYPL stock? Of course they should! However, at this point in time, it’s very possible that this excitement has already been priced in. One year ago, investors recognized that Venmo was exploding skyward at a triple-digit clip. Over the last two quarters, that growth rate has slipped to 85%.

PYPL is Great but Be Smart

As I said, I love PYPL stock. I use the underlining company’s platform all the time for personal and business reasons. More importantly, millions of people share my opinion, which is reflected in the financials.

But those stories have been traded for a long time. Furthermore, we’re experiencing troubles in the broader markets. Fear and doubt rule the day. While these issues don’t necessarily have anything directly to do with PayPal stock, they could still negatively impact it.

So as much as I’m long-term bullish on the company, I have to be smart. Shares are consolidating at a time when even great names in all industries are suffering volatility. Tactically speaking for the nearer-term, it just makes sense to be careful on PYPL.

As of this writing, Josh Enomoto is long bitcoin.