MA - Mastercard Incorporated
| Previous Close | 258.81 |
| Open | 258.83 |
| Bid | 0.00 x 1000 |
| Ask | 0.00 x 800 |
| Day's Range | 258.30 - 260.62 |
| 52 Week Range | 171.89 - 269.85 |
| Volume | 3,662,000 |
| Avg. Volume | 3,575,437 |
| Market Cap | 265.436B |
| Beta (3Y Monthly) | 1.00 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 43.41 |
| EPS (TTM) | 5.99 |
| Earnings Date | Jul 24, 2019 - Jul 29, 2019 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 1.32 (0.51%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2019-04-08 |
| 1y Target Est | 280.59 |
- Yahoo Finance•9 hours ago
Facebook discussed their plans for Libra with the Federal Reserve
Tech giant Facebook consulted the Federal Reserve ahead of the launch of its cryptocurrency Libra, according to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
- Zacks•7 hours ago
Forget Facebook's Cryptocurrency Play Libra and Buy Square (SQ) Stock?
Square stock is down roughly 3.5% over the last three months as investors decide what's next for the once high-flying financial tech giant.
- Reuters•9 hours ago
Delivery startup Rappi partners with Visa to offer pre-paid cards in Brazil
Delivery startup Rappi is partnering with Visa Inc to offer a prepaid card linked to its digital wallet in Brazil, expanding the product's rollout from Mexico and Colombia, where Rappi was founded, executives from the two companies told Reuters. "It is the first of many financial solutions we plan to offer to our users," Rappi co-founder in Brazil, Ricardo Bechara, said in an interview on Tuesday. Singapore-based Grab, which has a similar business to Rappi's in Asia, struck a deal with Mastercard last year.
- MarketWatch•11 hours ago
Senate banking committee sets July date to hold hearing on Facebook Libra coin
The Senate Banking committee on Wednesday set July 16 as the date to hold a hearing centered on Facebook Inc.'s Libra coin, an ambitious cryptocurrency venture led by the social-media giant that is intended as a frictionless way to to make payments over the internet using blockchain technology. The hearing titled "Examining Facebook's Proposed Digital Currency and Data Privacy Considerations," comes after a number of Congressional lawmakers a day ago demanded that Facebook , which is leading the digital-payments venture, delay its attempt to roll out the cryptocurrency by the second half of 2020 as planned, while legislators review possible risks to consumers. House Financial Services Committee head Maxine Waters on Tuesday said Facebook "is continuing its unchecked expansion and extending its reach into the lives of its users." The social-media outfit is wrestling with privacy concerns following its Cambridge Analytica scandal. On Tuesday, Facebook said: "We look forward to responding to lawmakers' questions as this process moves forward." Facebook has been meeting with regulators about its cryptocurrency plans, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported that Facebook officials have met with Securities and Exchange Commission as its prepares to kick off Libra Coin with more than two dozen partners, including payment company PayPal Inc. [sL PYPL], ride-hailing apps Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. , as well as credit card company Mastercard Inc. among many others. Many view this crypto as a powerful way for Facebook to tap into its 2.5 billion monthly active users. Libra coin won't be owned by Facebook and will be governed by a consortium of qualified global partners, with the intention of creating an independent payment system that has the benefits of the immutable ledger technology behind cryptos but none of the price vagaries of bitcoin because the digital asset will be pegged to a basket of fiat currencies like the dollar and euro , for example. Facebook's shares finished 0.5% lower on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average , the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index all finished in the session in positive territory.
- Business Wire•11 hours ago
Mastercard Announces Webcast of Annual Meeting of Stockholders
Mastercard Incorporated today announced that its annual meeting of stockholders on June 25, 2019 will also be available via audio webcast.
- Bloomberg•13 hours ago
Wall Street Sees Big Promise in Facebook Coin, With a Lot of Ifs
(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc.’s bid to create a new cryptocurrency has the potential to some day disrupt the global money system, analysts say. That’s if the new stablecoin, called Libra, can gain enough traction. In the meantime, they say, the plan probably means little for existing payments companies, like Mastercard Inc., Visa Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. -- which are all partners with Facebook.Shares of Mastercard, Visa and PayPal were mixed in mid-day Wednesday trading, ahead of the conclusion of the latest Federal Reserve meeting. Facebook was down as much as 2.1%.Here’s a sample of the latest commentary about the new cryptocurrency:Cowen, George Mihalos, Jaret Seiberg“If successful – if – it could be very disruptive to the legacy interchange model developed by the networks and banks,” Cowen analysts wrote in a note. Libra may also be “price-eroding to processors,” and serve as a “shot across the bow to money remittance firms.”Their expectations aren’t all bad for existing financial firms. Libra offers potential to bring “new money” into the digital payments ecosystem, they said, which would add to the value stored in digital wallets, like PayPal’s. That may lead to greater account adoption and transaction growth, though costs will probably come under pressure, as “Libra will in many ways be akin to using cash.”They also warned that politics pose a risk to Facebook, with Congress likely to hold hearings in the next few months. “Washington has the power to end Libra and any other cryptocurrency,” they said, by denying access to the banking system, making converting the currency to cash impossible. Congress may also adopt legislation that imposes onerous anti-money laundering and public audit requirements.MoffettNathanson, Lisa EllisThe announcement may be “most important for the cryptocurrency world,” and less so for payments companies, Ellis wrote in a note after discussing the plan with Visa, Mastercard and PayPal. “The cryptocurrency ecosystem may finally have a crypto-based system that – in design, at least – meets the major criteria required to make it functional for payments.”Libra has passed Visa, Mastercard and PayPal’s litmus tests, she said. They “see enough potential in the system to have raised their hands to participate – the first significant endorsement of the viability of cryptocurrencies from the incumbent payment ecosystem.”Citi, Ronit GhoseLibra “could be a big thing,” as the “support of Facebook and other internationally active partners will provide at minimum, a lot of public exposure to stablecoins and specifically to the Libra project.”Citi questions how regulators will respond to Libra.“For instance, Japan and Singapore consider coins pegged to a legal fiat as e-money,” while China, India and Indonesia ban dealing in virtual currencies, and Libra might fall under the SEC’s purview in the U.S. “The creation of ‘private money,’ even if fiat-linked, will raise a lot of political and regulatory debate.”Morgan Stanley, Brian Nowak, Betsy Graseck, James FaucetteMorgan Stanley analysts see little threat Libra will disrupt current global payment networks, noting Visa and Mastercard have “significant scale advantage, mature fraud detection capabilities and low cost structure.”They ask whether facilitating cross-border payments -- the only thing that’s not already present in today’s real-time banking system -- will be enough to differentiate Libra from other services, including Zelle and PayPal’s Venmo. They note that JPMorgan’s Interbank Information Network (IIN) is a blockchain that currently offers anti-money laundering and know-your-client (AML/KYC) services, with 259 banks and payments as a use case.KBW, Sanjay SakhraniThe initiative isn’t an immediate threat to payments companies, Sakhrani wrote in a note. “While the use case appears compelling for the underserved, adoption at a much broader scale will be required for Libra to emerge as a viable alternative to existing payment ecosystems.”Libra seems different than other cryptocurrencies, as it solves at least some issues, including volatility in value. Also, sponsorship from a large platform like Facebook may “help with the problem of adoption, although we believe that barriers to scale are likely still high, particularly in regions where a well-functioning payments ecosystem exists.”Wolfe Research, Darrin PellerThe most likely medium-term impact may be on “P2P, cross-border remittance, and the global underbanked,” Peller wrote in a note. He doesn’t see a near-term use case for Libra disrupting the payment system in “financially developed markets outside of remittance.”He sees opportunities for PayPal to fund Libra wallets/transactions and assist merchant acceptance, but adds that there are “long-term questions on potential pressure around e-commerce fees if Libra gains ubiquity.”To contact the reporter on this story: Felice Maranz in New York at fmaranz@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Steven Fromm, Janet FreundFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Investor's Business Daily•15 hours ago
Fintech Companies To Buy And Watch Amid Rise Of Digital Payments
There are many emerging fintech companies in which to invest. Digital payment technology is changing the competitive landscape in fields like e-commerce, payment networks and banking.
- Zacks•16 hours ago
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Facebook, PayPal, MasterCard, Uber and Spotify
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Facebook, PayPal, MasterCard, Uber and Spotify
- Zacks•2 days ago
Facebook Reveals Revolutionary Cryptocurrency
The currency will be called Libra and will be managed by the new Facebook (FB) subsidiary, Calibra. Calibra's digital wallet containing Libra is expected to be launched in Messenger, WhatsApp and as a standalone app in the first half of 2020.
- Bloomberg•2 days ago
Facebook’s Cryptocurrency Project: Who’s In and Who’s Out
(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. made a renewed push into payments on Tuesday, announcing plans for a cryptocurrency called Libra.Read More: Facebook Wants Its Cryptocurrency to One Day Rival the GreenbackIt will be governed by the Libra Association, a group of companies that will have an equal say in how the cryptocurrency is managed. Almost 30 firms have joined and Facebook hopes another 70 or more will enter the fold in the future.Read Facebook’s Project Libra white paper hereWho’s In:Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc., the world’s largest payments networks, as well as PayPal Holdings Inc. are on board. For Visa and Mastercard, it’s a chance to offer the world of cryptocurrencies the same services they provide in card payments. All three companies know the challenges of building a network and can offer expertise in encouraging consumers to use the instrument and cajoling merchants into accepting it.Companies such as Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc., and Spotify Technology SA keep millions of credit cards on file, and they risk losing customers when people get a new card or number. E-commerce firms also pay higher “card not present” rates when processing payments, so anything that can reduce these expenses is welcome.“Libra has the potential to bridge the gap between traditional financial networks and new digital currency technology, while reducing the costs for everyone,” said Peter Hazlehurst, head of payments at Uber.International companies, including e-commerce firm MercadoLibre Inc. and telecom giant Vodafone Group Plc, signed onto Libra, too. Blockchain technology and stablecoins are potential solutions for the messy world of cross-border payments, which suffers from delays and high costs.Who’s Out:Large banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc., already have their own payments businesses that reap billions of dollars in fees. With regulators still deciding how to treat cryptocurrencies, banks and investment firms are treading cautiously.So far, no large brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Target Corp. and Walmart Inc., are taking part. The industry is always interested in lowering the cost of accepting payments, but traditional merchants have historically been hesitant to accept cryptocurrencies due to volatility and lack of consumer adoption.The largest U.S. technology companies, Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Amazon.com Inc., are noticeably absent. Many of these firms have their own digital payments businesses and some are experimenting with blockchain technology. Apple has poured scorn on Facebook for repeated privacy missteps and other big tech firms are trying to avoid being associated with the social-media giant.“This is very early -- 27 organizations right now, 100 by the time we launch,” David Marcus, head of the Facebook blockchain team that’s spearheading the project, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “And by that time, I definitely expect to see banks in there, I definitely expect to see other large technology companies and I definitely expect to see more diversity of organizations in terms of geographical distribution.”Square Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey is a cryptocurrency fan, but even his firm isn’t part of Libra at launch. Square’s cryptocurrency team made its first hire last week and it’s Cash App is a popular way for consumers to buy and sell Bitcoin.Here’s the full list of founding members and partners:Andreessen Horowitz Anchorage Bison Trails Booking Holdings Inc.Breakthrough Initiatives Facebook’s CalibraCoinbase Inc.EBay Inc. Farfetch Ltd.Iliad SA’s Free Lyft Inc.Mastercard MercadoLibre Inc.’s Mercado Pago PayPal Naspers Ltd.’s PayURibbit Capital Spotify Technology SAStripe Inc.Thrive Capital Union Square Ventures Uber Visa Vodafone Group Xapo Creative Destruction Lab Kiva Mercy Corps Women’s World Banking (Updates with comment from Facebook’s David Marcus in 10th paragraph. A previous version of this story corrected Creative Destruction’s name.)To contact the reporters on this story: Jenny Surane in New York at jsurane4@bloomberg.net;Julie Verhage in New York at jverhage2@bloomberg.net;Kurt Wagner in San Francisco at kwagner71@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, Andrew PollackFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg•2 days ago
Visa, Mastercard, PayPal Join Facebook to Form Crypto Effort
(Bloomberg) -- If Facebook Inc.’s new digital currency goes according to plan, it could one day compete with payment giants Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. But for now, all three are set to work with the social-media company on the venture.The currency, called Libra, will launch as soon as next year. It’s what’s known as a stablecoin, one that can avoid massive fluctuations in value so it can be used for everyday transactions. Industry experts and insiders say the payments companies want a seat at the table to help shape the new currency.Read Facebook’s Project Libra white paper here“It’s not unusual for the incumbents -- Visa, Mastercard, PayPal -- to partner with a disruptor,” Harshita Rawat, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said in an interview. “They would at least want to participate in how this product is being developed.”New payment methods such as Apple Pay and other mobile wallets are often slow to take off, so any competition is likely to be years away. Still, the earlier payments companies come to the project, the more time they have to ensure their businesses don’t suffer.None of these companies has been shy about pursuing collaboration or other strategic opportunities. PayPal alone has spent billions of dollars buying or investing in potential partnerships as well as competitors. While PayPal hasn’t ventured into cryptocurrencies before, it was a proponent of the blockchain technology that will be used to build Libra.Visa and Mastercard are always looking to embed themselves in emerging payment forms. Both have developed partnerships with cryptocurrency and blockchain firms. They’ve said that Libra can help more people gain access to financial products.“We think cryptocurrencies can address use cases that are not really well served today,” such as areas where cash-based payments remain prominent, said Jorn Lambert, executive vice president of digital solutions at Mastercard. “As such we think it will be incremental to what we do and not a replacement of it.”The payment companies are part of the Libra Association, giving them a say in how the cryptocurrency is managed. There’s currently no time commitment, so members can leave at any time. Once the group’s charter is finalized, there will be a minimum time commitment, according to some members of the group who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.“My sense is that they will try their best to partner and engage with Facebook,” Rawat said. “If Facebook takes the angle that they want to disintermediate card payments, then I think they may not want to participate.”Facebook shares rose 1.4% to $191.61 as of 11:12 a.m. in New York after announcing the cryptocurrency venture.(Updates with shares in final paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Julie Verhage in New York at jverhage2@bloomberg.net;Jenny Surane in New York at jsurane4@bloomberg.net;Kurt Wagner in San Francisco at kwagner71@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Dan Reichl, Alistair BarrFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- American City Business Journals•2 days ago
Facebook introduces Libra cryptocurrency, but promises it doesn’t want to control it
Facebook has unveiled Libra, a new type of money that could eventually become the world’s first widely used cryptocurrency.
- InvestorPlace•2 days ago
Tuesday’s Vital Data: Facebook, Tesla and Micron Technology
U.S. stock futures are trading higher this morning, ending the standoff that has kept most broad market indexes locked in a narrow range for the past week. The gains come amid optimism that the Fed's two-day meeting kicking off today will end with action supporting higher equity prices.Against this backdrop, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.53% and S&P 500 futures are higher by 0.59%. Nasdaq-100 futures have added 1.03%.In the options pits, the summer doldrums took their toll yesterday with overall volume falling well below average levels. Specifically, only 14.3 million calls and 12.5 million puts changed hands on the session. The distance between put and call volume narrowed, however, when looking at the action at the CBOE. By day's end, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio climbed to 0.72. Meanwhile, the 10-day moving average inched higher to 0.65.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsOptions traders swarmed in Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU).Let's take a closer look: Facebook (FB)Facebook shares were flying off the shelf yesterday after the social media king unveiled plans to launch a new cryptocurrency called Libra. FB stock ended the day up 4.24% and is set to open another 1.7% higher this morning.With more than 2.4 billion active users, Facebook is in a unique position to bring the cryptic world of crypto to the mainstream. And the company isn't venturing into the digital currency waters alone. They just announced a slew of large partners including Mastercard (NYSE:MA), Paypal (NASDAQ:PYPL) and Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) backing their efforts. * 10 Tech Stocks to Buy Now for 2025 With the day's gains, FB has returned to the north side of its 50-day and 20-day moving averages, officially recouping all of last month's losses. It now sits within striking distance of its April high near $200.On the options trading front, traders chased calls throughout the session. Total activity ramped to 259% of the average daily volume, with 649,521 contracts traded; 78% of the trading came from call options alone.The increased demand drove implied volatility higher on the day to 32%, placing it at the 35th percentile of its one-year range. Premiums are now baking in daily moves of $3.82 or 2%. Tesla (TSLA)Tesla shares gained 4.7% on Monday to notch a new one-month high. And the rally is continuing this morning with TSLA stock up another 2.5% premarket. One notable development could be fueling the bulls' fire.Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, tweeted over the weekend, "Just deleted my Twitter account." Shareholders the world over likely cheered the move given the trouble Musk's aggressive tweets have caused in the past.Although Tesla shares have rallied well off their 52-week lows, many resistance levels sit overhead, including the 50-day moving average. This has been the spot where previous rallies have failed, so it will be telling if TSLA can finally close and stay above it.On the options trading front, puts outpaced calls despite the stock rally. Total activity climbed slightly higher to 109% of the average daily volume, with 427,700 contracts traded. Puts claimed 52% of the day's take.Implied volatility rose to 65%, which places it at the 29th percentile of its one-year range. Premiums are pricing in daily moves of $9.24 or 4.1%. Micron (MU)Micron shares have now come full circle this year. The four-month uptrend that carried the chip stock 41% higher from January through April has now completely unraveled. Its descending 20-day, 50-day and 200-day moving averages loom ominously overhead and reveal how bears dominate across all time frames. * 7 Top-Rated Biotech Stocks to Invest In Today With Monday's drop, MU stock now sits at a critical short-term support level of $32. Speculators are likely teeing up breakdown trades in anticipation of the floor's failure.The company's next earnings release is scheduled for June 25, so look for that to provide the next catalyst for Micron's trend.On the options trading front, calls were favored over two-to-one versus puts. Total activity finished just a hair above usual at 101% of the average daily volume, with 123,780 contracts traded. Calls accounted for 72% of the session's sum.Option premiums are pumped up ahead of next week's earnings report. Implied volatility sits at 55% or the 56th percentile of its one-year range. Traders now expect daily moves of $1.11 or 3.4%.As of this writing, Tyler Craig didn't hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out his recently released Bear Market Survival Guide to learn how to defend your portfolio against market volatility. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * 5 Red-Hot IPO Stocks to Buy for the Long Run * 5 Stocks to Buy for $20 or Less * 4 Dow Jones Stocks Ready to Rise Compare Brokers The post Tuesday's Vital Data: Facebook, Tesla and Micron Technology appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- InvestorPlace•2 days ago
There Are Really No Good Reasons to Keep Laying off Visa Stock
Visa (NYSE:V) is up more than 25% over the past year, stoked in part by Federal Reserve rate hikes of 2018 that have translated into higher profit margins for credit card companies. The overall fundamental strength of the company has also been the catalyst behind the Visa stock returns.Source: Kārlis Dambrāns via FlickrThe world's largest retail electronic payments network, Visa, is expected to report earnings in late July. There could be some volatility and profit-taking in Visa in the coming weeks, especially as many other financial services firms also report in July.However, I'd encourage long-term investors who would like exposure to the sector to regard any dip in the share price as an opportunity to add Visa stock to their portfolio.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips * 7 Top-Rated Biotech Stocks to Invest In Today Long-Term Visa Stock StrengthsRobust Fundamental Numbers: Visa is a quality blue-chip company with a $370 billion market cap. Since going public in 2008, Visa has rewarded shareholders continuously.The group does not issue credit cards or lend money. Instead, the company operates as an "intermediary," charging a fee on each of the 150 million transactions its network handles every day.Visa has three sources of revenue: * Service revenues (for services provided to card issuers for the use of Visa products); * Data processing revenues (fees Visa collects for the authorization, settlement, or clearing); and * International transaction revenues (for cross-border and currency conversion transactions).On April 24, Visa posted better than expected results for Q2 2019. Revenue for the quarter ending March 31 was $5.5 billion, an 8% growth year-over-year (YoY).Earnings per share (EPS) also increased to $1.31, a 17% YoY increase. As a result of robust growth in payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions, the company also increased its outlook for the year.As one of the major credit and debit card processors, Visa has strong pricing power and a good profit margin that stands at over 54%. Visa's leadership position in the industry requires financial flexibility so that the management can continue the growth-centric steps. Its current ratio, which measures Visa's ability to pay off short-term liabilities with its current assets, is a healthy 1.6, compared to the industry average of 2.4.In fact, Visa and its long-time archrival Mastercard (NYSE:MA) can be said to have a duopoly in the cards network sector. Both companies collect transaction fees for without bearing credit risk and control a majority of the digital payment infrastructure. And there does not seem to be much threat to the dominance of either company.Visa's sales numbers are forecast to grow over 10% in 2019 and 2020. Overall, Wall Street expects Visa's profitability, high margins, robust cash flow and healthy financial metrics to continue in the coming quarters, too -- a fact that should bring higher prices for V stock.Mobile Payments Space: Many of us have already paid for a purchase with our smartphones at least once as mobile payments are fast becoming a convenient and swift method to pay bills or make transfers. Analysts expect the global market to reach $4.5 trillion by 2023.The most widely used transaction methods include contactless payments without entering the credit card PIN number at the point-of-sale or using a smartphone to pay a merchant or even a person such as a friend or family member, i.e., peer-to-peer (P2P) payments.If you are looking at ways to benefit from this trend, Visa may be a solid company to consider. It's been boosting its mobile payment offerings. As early as 2011, the group took a stake in Square (NYSE:SQ), the San Francisco-based credit card processing fintech, which was founded in 2009. There are rumors that Visa may end up acquiring Square.Its other strategic investments include Stripe and Marqeta as well as It's currently bidding to buy Earthport,a British payments company, that facilitates money transfer services across borders.Over the past decade, smartphones have become a part of our daily lives and it would not be wrong to expect mobile payments to enter our daily lives in a big way. In other words, as more consumers tap to pay or download an app to transfer money, Visa investors are likely to reap the rewards. What Could Derail Visa Stock?Short-term Technical Analysis and Price Charts: Year-to-date, Visa is up 28%. So, in the next few weeks, there might be some profit taking. As a result of the recent impressive run-up in the stock price, short-term technical indicators have become somewhat over-extended. Investors who pay attention to short-term oscillators should note that Visa's technical message has also become "overbought."Leading up to its earnings report in late July, Visa stock could trade sideways for several weeks and even have a pullback toward the low-$160's or even mid-$150's level, where the stock is likely to find major support.Visa stock's beta is 0.98, which means its volatility on average mimics that of the broader market. Therefore if the industry or the broader market declines as the companies release earnings, Visa may also be adversely affected.Investors may consider waiting on the sidelines if they do not currently have any positions open in these tech stocks.If you already own Visa shares, you might want to hold your position. That said, if you are worried about short-term profit taking, then within the parameters of your portfolio allocation and risk/return profile, you may consider placing a stop loss at about 3-5% below the current price point, to protect your profits to date.Current shareholders may also consider hedging their positions. As for hedging strategies, covered calls or put spreads with July 19 expiry could be appropriate as straight put purchases are likely to be expensive due to heightened volatility.I would not advocate bottom-picking in case of near-term price weakness. Yet, I find Visa stock to be a compelling buy candidate and by the end of 2020, I'd expect the shares to reach $180.Competition in the Mobile Payment Payments Space: The fintech revolution is evolving and the entire payments industry is growing fast. In addition to Visa, several other U.S. companies are leading the mobile-payment race that requires cutting-edge technology. In October 2014, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) introduced Apple Pay which has now become one of the dominant digital payment apps in the U.S.In the P2P space, investors love PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) which owns the popular Venmo app. The app has over 25 million users and is ahead of its closest competitors -- Apple's Pay Cash, Square's Cash App, and Zelle, which is owned by Early Warning Services, a private fintech company.If there are mixed earnings reports or important news from Visa's competitors hit the wires, there may be short-term volatility or decline in the stock. For example, if any of Visa peers were to issue an earnings warning, due to a potential slowdown in consumer spending in the U.S. or globally, then Visa shares could also be adversely affected in the near-term.However, Visa is a solid company with continued growth prospects in mobile payments. Therefore small price dips on daily headlines should not keep long-term investors up at night.In general, whenever Visa stock price has a correction, such as the one it experienced in late 2018, the shares come back rather quickly, only to make a new high in several months. Bottom Line on Visa StockVisa stock is a fundamentally sound stalwart investment with further growth prospects, profitability, leadership in the respective market, stability, and proactive management -- factors that are likely to translate into a strong balance sheet and robust bottom line in the rest of the decade.There are two important secular trends currently affecting the payments sector in the U.S. as well as many other countries, i.e., payment transactions are increasingly moving to mobile and digital payments are surpassing cash payments. As the industry is growing and being transformed, Visa stock may indeed provide a solid long-term investment for many shareholders.Investors who are interested in financial services, but do not want to commit all their capital to a single stock such as Visa may also consider investing in various exchange-traded Funds (ETFs) that have Visa as a holding, including iShares U.S. Financial Services ETF (NYSEARCA:IYG), ISE Mobile Payments ETF (NYSEARCA:IPAY), or Vanguard Information Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:VGT).As of this writing, Tezcan Gecgil did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * The 7 Best Tech Stocks to Buy for the Second Half of 2019 * 7 Top-Rated Biotech Stocks to Invest In Today * 4 Semiconductor Stocks to Sell Compare Brokers The post There Are Really No Good Reasons to Keep Laying off Visa Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Zacks•2 days ago
4 Payment Stocks to Gain From Increasing Retail Sales
Increase in retail sales expanded business volumes for companies engaged in the payments' ecosystem as customers look for easy modes of transactions.
- Zacks•2 days ago
4 Stocks to Win Big as Bitcoin Nears $10,000
Bitcoin steers past the $9,000 mark and is approaching $10,000 on reports that Facebook is soon set to launch its own cryptocurrency.
- Markit•2 days ago
See what the IHS Markit Score report has to say about MasterCard Inc.
MasterCard Inc NYSE:MAView full report here! Summary * ETFs holding this stock are seeing positive inflows * Bearish sentiment is low * Economic output for the sector is expanding but at a slower rate Bearish sentimentShort interest | PositiveShort interest is extremely low for MA with fewer than 1% of shares on loan. This could indicate that investors who seek to profit from falling equity prices are not currently targeting MA. Money flowETF/Index ownership | PositiveETF activity is positive. Over the last month, ETFs holding MA are favorable, with net inflows of $11.89 billion. Additionally, the rate of inflows is increasing. Economic sentimentPMI by IHS Markit | NegativeAccording to the latest IHS Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data, output in the Financials sector is rising. The rate of growth is weak relative to the trend shown over the past year, however, and is easing. Credit worthinessCredit default swapCDS data is not available for this security.Please send all inquiries related to the report to score@ihsmarkit.com.Charts and report PDFs will only be available for 30 days after publishing.This document has been produced for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon or as construed as investment advice. To the fullest extent permitted by law, IHS Markit disclaims any responsibility or liability, whether in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), equity or otherwise, for any loss or damage arising from any reliance on or the use of this material in any way. Please view the full legal disclaimer and methodology information on pages 2-3 of the full report.
- Bloomberg•2 days ago
Facebook's Libra Cryptocurrency Needs More Friends
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Facebook Inc.’s planned cryptocurrency is going to need more friends to work.On Tuesday, the social media giant announced it had signed up 27 partners to develop and administer Libra, a digital medium of exchange for use on its apps and beyond. Uber Technologies Inc., Spotify Inc., Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are all taking part – but there’s a notable absence of banks, large retailers and consumer goods companies, whose massive marketing budgets are the staple of ad agencies worldwide.This matters because Facebook is, above all else, an advertising platform. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has to prove that Libra will deliver more value to brands than their current advertising setup. Judging by this initial list of partners, a lot of firms appear unconvinced. The company wants to sign up a total of 100 by the time the coin starts next year. It will need every one of them, and more.For Zuckerberg, the best possible outcome is that the coin, which is tied to a basket of foreign currencies, keeps both users and brands locked into the Menlo Park, California-based firm’s ecosystem.In theory, a user might receive a token for watching an ad, which they then spend on something they have also seen advertised on Facebook. The company selling the product could then use that token to buy more ad space on the social network, and so the cycle would start anew. That would mean that, even if Zuckerberg had to spend a little bit more to keep his users engaged, the money would ultimately flow back into his company’s coffers.For brands, the big question is just how much data from that process will Facebook be willing to share? You can see why companies might be wary about signing up on day one. Facebook and its family of apps – Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger – are already something of a walled garden when it comes to advertisers. They regularly complain that they have little visibility over what they call the journey of their customers: What ads did customers see before making a purchase or clicking through to a website? That anonymized data allows them to gauge whether an approach works or not.Many purchases happen on brands’ own websites right now, which is a problem for Facebook, since it doesn’t know itself when a user has decided to buy something. Knowing what exactly prompts a purchase would help the company target future ad campaigns more effectively. Starting its own digital wallet – Calibra – should allow it to plug that gap by inserting itself into the middle of consumers’ transactions. Facebook has said that it won’t use financial data to target ads, but the wallet will nonetheless surely be optimized to execute purchases from within one of its platforms.The model here is Amazon.com Inc. The e-commerce giant knows almost every stage of an online shopper’s journey to purchasing an item, allowing it to target them with precision. That’s a threat to both Facebook and Google’s advertising models, and goes a long way to explaining why Zuckerberg is so keen to make friends. To contact the author of this story: Alex Webb at awebb25@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Alex Webb is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe's technology, media and communications industries. He previously covered Apple and other technology companies for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters•2 days ago
Swiss regulator says in contact with initiators of Facebook's Libra
Switzerland's financial regulator FINMA said on Tuesday that it is in contact with the "initiators" of Libra, Facebook's planned cyrptocurrency. A FINMA spokesman confirmed to Reuters it was in contact but declined to comment further on whether the project was in the process of obtaining any specific regulatory permissions. Facebook revealed its plans for Geneva-based Libra earlier on Tuesday.
- MarketWatch•2 days ago
Facebook's stock set to rise more than 2% after official launch of cryptocurrency Libra coin
Facebook Inc. on Tuesday said it will roll out its highly anticipated digital currency next year, intended to be used to make payments over the internet as well as on its social-media platform. The cryptocurrency called Libra coin uses blockchain, the digital-ledger technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to create its digital currency. However, unlike bitcoin the digital asset will be pegged to hard currencies like the dollar and the euro to make it less prone to the wild prices swings associated with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The move is widely viewed as an implicit endorsement of the blockchain technology and to a lesser extent crypto assets, which were first created back in 2009 when a person or persons known as Satoshi Nakamoto minted the first bitcoin. The Facebook digital payment venture will be backed by more than two dozen companies, including Mastercard Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. , as well as Uber Technologies Inc. and Spotify Technology . The cryptocurrency will be overseen by a Geneva-based company called Libra Association, with many of the aforementioned backers serving as members of the independent organization. Facebook is also creating a digital wallet called Calibra that allows users to safely store their Libra coins. Shares of Facebook were climbing more than 2% in premarket trade Tuesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average , S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq-100 were also rising, setting up modest opening gains for the U.S. stock market.
- Reuters•2 days ago
UPDATE 1-India to review data storage rules that irked U.S. tech firms
India will examine concerns raised by foreign technology companies around stringent rules to store data locally, the government said on Tuesday, an issue that has upset firms such as Mastercard and also irked the U.S. government. The decision to review the rules comes at a time when trade tensions between India and United States have risen. India imposed higher tariffs on some U.S. goods on Sunday, following Washington's withdrawal of key trade privileges for New Delhi.
- Reuters•2 days ago
Facebook reveals Libra cryptocurrency, with lofty goals
SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK, June 18 (Reuters) - Facebook Inc revealed plans on Tuesday to launch a cryptocurrency called Libra, the latest development in its effort to expand beyond social networking and move into e-commerce and global payments. Facebook has linked with 28 partners in a Geneva-based entity called the Libra Association, which will govern its new digital coin set to launch in the first half of 2020, according to marketing materials and interviews with executives. Facebook has also created a subsidiary called Calibra, which will offer digital wallets to save, send and spend Libras.
