“Life Takes Visa,” claims the world’s largest card issuer, Visa Inc (NYSE:V). Visa is used throughout the world to process trillions of dollars of payments and in 2012 was named Fortune’s most admired company in the world! However, the company has currently been in the public spotlight due to a court case about debit-card swipe fees.
On Friday, the court ruled that the Fed acted within its authority when it capped debit card swipe fees at 21 cents, despite retailers challenging the Fed’s actions. Visa Inc (NYSE:V) was just one of the stocks that gained on Friday and analysts, including Jefferies analyst Jason Kupferberg, were recommending BUY V. After meeting with executives from the company, Jason reiterated his BUY V rating and $268 price target. Jason came away from the meeting with three important notes, “1) recent softening of x-border vol growth warrants attention, but doesn’t appear structural, 2) V continues to monitor theoretical disintermediation threats (ACH, MCX, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin), but none seem to be real risks in the foreseeable future, 3) the global regulatory environment remains manageable, while Europe may be a bigger wildcard than the US.” When it comes to Visa Inc (NYSE:V), Jason has a 100% success rate recommending the stock, helping him earn an overall +1.8% average return over S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) and a 75% success rate of successful ratings.
Jason recommended BUY V in July of 2013 and raised his price target from $196 to $220, following Q2 results. Jason noted, “On balance, the leading indicators we track for Buy-rated V/MA trended positively for C2Q, which should bode well for both networks to deliver a solid print.” This recommendation earned Jason +2.7% over S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX).
Just before his July recommendation, Jason recommended BUY V in April of 2013. Jason argued, “Visa is well positioned to benefit from the global secular shift from paper-based to electronic transactions. Visa Inc (NYSE:V) aggressively reinvests in new growth initiatives (mobile, P2P, prepaid, e-commerce), turning potential competitive threats into opportunities. Early payments maturity cycle in key global markets provides V with a solid foundation for growth.” Jason ended up earning +6.9% over S&P-500.
Jason has also seen success recommending Visa Inc (NYSE:V) competitor, Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA). Following an analyst meeting, Jason learned that the company is “cultivating more productive relationships with merchants, as well as progress reports on key global markets/emerging geographies, and an update on balance sheet deployment strategy.” The main tenant of the meeting was Mastercard’s singular focus on converting the 85% of global transactions that are currently cash and check to electronic payment methods.” Jason earned +11.9% over S&P-500!
While Jason did just experience a loss from his February 20th recommendation to BUY CGI Group Inc. (NYSE:GIB), this is the first loss he has experienced since his SELL Automatic Data recommendation from all the way back in September 2012. Jason’s most recent recommendations to BUY VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY) is already seeing positive results.
Following positive Q1 reports from the company that provides technology for electronic payment transactions throughout the world, Jason reiterated BUY PAY. Jason noted, “the PAY turnaround continues on an upward trajectory, with F1Q results comfortably ahead of expectations on all key metrics, and a slight unexpected uptick in F14 guidance, which likely remains conservative. We see EMV as a modest catalyst, and the new mgmt team deserves credit ofr simultaneously addressing near-term challenges and longer-term repositioning.” This recommendation has already earned +5.3% over S&P-500.
While you might already have Visa in your wallet, before you add it to your portfolio be sure to review each analyst’s past recommendations, including Jason’s, by downloading TipRanks. With TipRanks you will have the information you need to make informed financial decisions, with advice you can trust.
