William Blair Reiterates Market Perform Rating on Global Payments (GPN)

William Blair & Company is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Market Perform rating on Global Payments Inc. GPN; it did not provide a price target for the stock. The WB analysts cited the company’s most recent earnings report, which they characterized as “mixed to somewhat disappointing” given that guidance was weak and did not include $0.12 of start-up expenses relating to a new global service center in the Philippines, which will support customer and operational functions. The company did make important announcements on the call related to its CIBC relationship and G2. Regarding CIBC, the company has renewed its marketing alliance with the bank on similar terms as its prior agreement. The WB analysts said, “Recall that fears about Global losing the CIBC marketing relationship caused the stock to fall 9% on June 21 from $42.61 to $38.89 (versus the current price of $39.93), so this news should be viewed as an incremental positive.” William Blair lowered its FY 2011 EPS estimate by $0.06 and lowered its FY 2012 EPS estimate by $0.14.