Global Payments upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

Jefferies analyst Trevor Williams upgraded Global Payments (GPN) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $145, up from $125, post the Q2 report. The company’s merchant growth positively de-coupled from Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) in Q2, says the analyst, who now believes the above-market growth will persist for the balance of 2023. This should improve the narrative around structural positioning and drive a continued re-rating of Global Payments shares, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes the company has a “renewed scarcity value with estimates in a safer place and a depressed multiple that makes for an asymmetric risk/reward.”