UPDATE 1-RESEARCH ALERT-William Blair starts Visa, MasterCard
(Changes source; adds details, stock movement)
Aug 26 (Reuters) - William Blair & Co initiated coverage of Visa Inc (V.N) and MasterCard Inc (MA.N) with an "outperform" rating, saying there is potential for growth in payment card volume as the shift towards card-based payments continue.
The payment-card volume should grow substantially helped by new plastic-money technology, modernization of payment infrastructure in developing nations and the increase in cross-border travel, the brokerage said.
William Blair said it views Visa and MasterCard as investment opportunities as they are less exposed to the weakening U.S. economy and have significant operating leverage.
The brokerage forecast revenue growth of 14 percent yearly for Visa and earnings growth of 23 percent a year, over the next five years.
For MasterCard, the brokerage expects revenue growth of 13 percent yearly and profit growth 22 percent a year, over a five-year period, helped by opportunities in Europe.
Shares of Visa were trading down 10 cents at $73.22, while those of MasterCard were trading down $1.00 at $233.20 Tuesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sandhya Menon in Bangalore; Editing by Amitha Rajan)
