In yet another addition to its C-suite, Visa (NYSE:V) appointed ex-Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) finance chief Chris Suh as its new chief financial officer-designate. Suh will serve in the designate role from July 10 to August 1, after which he will assume the full responsibility of the CFO role.
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He succeeds Vasant Prabhu, who will assist him in the transition until September 30. Prabhu had stepped down from the role in mid-February after serving for eight years in the role.
In November 2022, the payment processor company promoted President Ryan McInerney to the CEO role, effective February 2023.
Industry Veteran, Suh
Suh has served as CFO at Electronic Arts since March 2022. Prior to that, he had spent 25 years at Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), serving across different finance roles.
In high inflationary times surrounded by rising interest rates, the new entrants to the top management team will be looked at with optimism. Investors will expect them to support Visa’s focus on higher profits with a reduction in expenses. Wedbush Securities adds that Suh is also likely to look at expansion in Visa’s offerings to card issuers and providing merchants with varied payment options. Q2 payments volume for Visa grew by 10% with total processed transactions expanding by 12%.
“His deep experience in finance and technology, plus his leadership in growing and scaling businesses, will be extraordinarily valuable to us as we continue to drive growth and better serve our clients around the world,” CEO Mclnerney commented on Suh’s appointment.
Recently, Visa revealed that it is in later-stage talks to acquire Brazil-based cloud-based payment provider, Pismo in a deal valued at around $1B. The agreement is likely to be finalized this month.
Is Visa a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Of the 20 Wall Street Analysts covering Visa stock, 19 have assigned a Buy rating while one stands with a Hold rating, thereby taking the average analyst consensus rating to Strong Buy. Further, analysts’ 12-month average price target of $272.55 implies a 20.4% upside potential from current levels.
Bank Of America Analyst Jason Kupferberg maintained his Buy rating on the stock yesterday with a price target of $270 marking a 19.2% upside potential. The analyst has stuck to his Buy rating for the past five years, with a success rate of 24 profitable ratings out of 27. The average return per rating stands at 18.49%.
In the past year, Visa has generated 17.4% in returns for investors with past-6-months’ gains at almost 10%. The financial services company has seen a positive Q2 with revenues and earnings expanding led by a 24% surge in total cross-border volumes, especially in Asian markets. Looking ahead, Visa is positive in Q3 with sequential revenue growth amidst a revival in travel spending.
V stock price in the past 5-years has seen a significant 80.8% upside and is currently trading close to its 52-week high levels.
