CoreCard downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley

B. Riley downgraded CoreCard (CCRD) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $15, down from $19. The firm sees a lowered probability of reaching its former price target due to the transition of the Apple Card to a new bank partner. Goldman Sachs (GS), a 62% customer of CoreCard in Q2 via its processing relationship on behalf of Apple (AAPL), is reported to be in advanced talks to sell the credit card portfolio to JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the analyst tells investors in a research note. Riley believes JPMorgan has substantial processing assets for credit cards and may take these services in-house. While the company has approximately one year left on its contract with Goldman, a purchase agreement to buy the portfolio by any bank could put a renewal of the CoreCard contract in doubt, says the firm.