MasterCard "underperform," target price raised

01.11.07 - Credit Suisse

NEW YORK, November 1 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Credit Suisse maintain their "underperform" rating on MasterCard Inc (MA), while raising their estimates for the company. The target price has been raised from $110 to $160.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company has posted its 3Q EPS ahead of the estimates and the consensus, driven by better-than-expected revenues and a lower-than-anticipated tax rate. MasterCard has announced an incremental stock buyback programme of $750 million, which is expected to be completed by June 30, 2008. The EPS estimates for 2007 and 2008 have been raised from $5.00 to $5.50 and from $6.00 to $7.00, respectively.