Shares of MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) fell 0.75% to $353.05 on Monday, as the firm finished $48.45 shy of its 52-week high of $401.50, which it set on April 28th.
During 2020, Mastercard handled $4.8 trillion in purchasing transactions, making it the world’s second-largest payment processor after Visa (NYSE: V). Fast forward to its reported earnings in Q2 2021, and revenues for the card network exceeded expectations by 3.7%, coming in nearly $4.5 billion in revenue. Mastercard also exceeded Wall Street average profit estimates, posting $2.08 per share, against $1.74.
However, since those results, MA’s value on the stock market has fallen; it is now trading near the center of its 52-week range, and considering the S&P 500 Index is at record levels, MA is trailing behind the market.
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Last month, MA fluctuated between a wide range of $351.65 – $376.67, and it is now trading close to the range’s lows.
Notably, the company is trading below its 20, 50-day simple moving averages, generally used by stock investors as uptrend indicators. Due to previous performance and a price below the 20-day SMA indicate that the firm’s short-term prognosis may be bearish.
MA buy zone
Additionally, although the trading volume is lower than in the past, the price movement has been a little too volatile to identify a decent entry and exit point.
However, from $349.50 to $353.04, traders will find the support zone, indicated by several trend lines in different time spans combined to create this zone whereas, a range of $358.00 to $372.20 is considered a resistance zone using several trend lines and key moving averages.
If you look at MA’s earnings per share (EPS) over the last five years, you’ll see that it has grown significantly, averaging 13.19% per year. In terms of EPS, MA is anticipated to expand rapidly; a 20.95% annual increase in earnings per share is expected to take place during the next five years.
Moreover, since the MA dividend increases by an average of 18.36% yearly, earnings are rising faster than the dividend, thus showing the dividend growth is sustainable.
Wall Street analysts estimate
On Wall Street, sixteen analysts that provided 12-month price projections for Mastercard in the last three months have assigned MA stock a median price target of $441.27, with a high estimate of $482 and a low prognosis of $385.
In light of Mastercard’s performance over the past three months, fifteen TipRanks experts have reiterated their “Buy” recommendations, while one analyst has recommended “Hold.” Interestingly no analyst has given MA a Sell rating.
Most analysts feel MA is a good investment, with an average price objective of $441.27 and a 24.99% return from its current price of $353.27.
Mastercard increases interest in crypto space
Whatsmore, Mastercard announced in February 2021 that it is prepared for the future of crypto and payments and would begin supporting certain cryptocurrencies directly on its network this year.
Indeed, the firm continues to work alongside crypto exchange Binance despite regulatory concerns over the past few months.
Not to mention, Mastercard also confirmed that it would introduce a crypto rewards credit card this summer in conjunction with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, indicating that the company continues to develop into new sectors and a desire to flourish as a consequence of the latest technologies.
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