Buy the dip on these credit card giants as stablecoin weakness is overblown, says Wells Fargo
Investors should consider taking advantage of the recent pullback in shares of Mastercard and Visa , Wells Fargo said on Tuesday. The firm reiterated its overweight ratings on the two global payments technology names and kept its price target at $625 for Mastercard and $395 for Visa. Those targets each imply around 15% upside from Monday’s close. “We’re buyers of V/MA shares on the stablecoin weakness, as it is way overblown,” analyst Donald Fandetti wrote in a note to clients, adding that “there are many hurdles to this theoretical alternative to card payments.” Shares of Visa and Mastercard both came under pressure amid growing fears among investors that stablecoins – or cryptocurrencies whose values are pegged to those of other assets, like the U.S. dollar – would pose a threat to traditional payment networks. Since the Senate approved the GENIUS Act on June 17, Visa and Mastercad are down 4% and 4.8%, respectively. The legislation would institute a regulatory framework for stablecoin use. MA V mountain 2025-06-17 MA vs. V, in past week Fandetti points out that stablecoins are reminiscent of account-to-account payments, a method through which funds are transferred between two bank accounts — bypassing intermediaries such as payment processors. However, the method isn’t widely used, he noted. “Banks would likely push back against their own disintermediation, which provides further support for V/MA, in our view. It’s our understanding that the GENIUS Act would not permit interest earned on stablecoin funds,” the analyst said. “Payment alternatives to V & MA in the past have been slow to gain adoption and traction. And consortiums have not worked.” “We believe the stablecoin fears will fade. You can’t have the wild west in payments,” he also said. Wall Street is mostly bullish on Mastercard and Visa as well. For Mastercard, 29 out of 40 analysts covering the stock have a strong buy or buy rating, while 33 out of the 41 total analysts covering Visa have a strong buy or buy rating on the name. Both stocks were marginally higher in the premarket Tuesday, with Mastercard gaining almost 1% and Visa climbing more than 1%.
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