MasterCard "overweight," target price raised

03.08.06 - Prudential Financial

NEW YORK, August 3 (newratings.com) - Analyst Matthew Park of Prudential Financial maintains his "overweight" rating on MasterCard Incorporated (MA), while raising his estimates for the company. The target price has been raised from $56 to $60.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the company has posted its 2Q06 pro forma "core" EPS significantly ahead of the estimates primarily due to higher-than-expected growth in operating drivers. The pro forma diluted EPS estimates for 2006 and 2007 have been raised from $2.71 to $2.95 and from $3.14 to $3.35, respectively.