Zacks Research Upgrades Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) to Strong-Buy

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Marqeta from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Marqeta from $4.50 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Marqeta from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marqeta from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marqeta presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.75.

Marqeta Stock Up 5.0%

MQ opened at $16.47 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.38. Marqeta has a fifty-two week low of $14.80 and a fifty-two week high of $25.85. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.73 and a beta of 1.30.

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $176.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.96 million. Marqeta had a return on equity of 1.36% and a net margin of 1.53%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Marqeta will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Marqeta

In other Marqeta news, CRO Todd Pollak sold 18,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.88, for a total value of $316,500.00. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 185,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,122,935.04. The trade was a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Elaine Paul sold 4,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.20, for a total transaction of $68,962.40. Following the sale, the director owned 8,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,280. The trade was a 33.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marqeta

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marqeta during the third quarter valued at $26,000. EFG International AG purchased a new position in Marqeta in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Marqeta by 82.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marqeta in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Marqeta during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marqeta Company Profile

Marqeta is a modern card issuing and payment processing platform that enables businesses to design, launch and manage customized payment cards. The company offers a fully programmable open API that allows clients to create virtual, physical and tokenized payment cards with real-time transaction controls and dynamic spend limits. By leveraging Marqeta’s infrastructure, companies can streamline their payment operations, reduce time to market and deliver tailored payment experiences to end consumers.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Oakland, California, Marqeta was established by CEO Jason Gardner with the goal of transforming traditional card issuance through cloud-native technology.