MasterCard "overweight," target price raised

04.10.06 - Prudential Financial

NEW YORK, October 4 (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 $60 to $79.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the estimates have been raised to reflect a potential improvement in the company?s operating efficiency and marginal increase in volume assumptions for 2007. MasterCard?s investment in a state of the art operational centre has resulted in increased flexibility in products for merchants and card issuers, the analyst adds. The pro forma diluted EPS estimates for 2006 and 2007 have been raised from $2.95 to $2.98 and from $3.35 to $3.55 respectively.