UPDATE: BTIG Initiates Green Dot Corporation at Buy on Valuation, Cash Position

BTIG initiated coverage on Green Dot Corporation

with a Buy rating and a $19.00 price target. BTIG noted, "We are initiating coverage of GDOT with a BUY recommendation and a price target of $19 based on 12x our 2013E adjusted EPS of $1.20 plus $4.31 per share of unencumbered cash. (The cash alone represents 32% of GDOT's current share price.) We think GDOT's current valuation already reflects extreme fears about the potential impact of competition on the company's prepaid card business while essentially ignoring how well positioned the company is to benefit from the industry's rapid growth. And we believe GDOT's valuation in no way incorporates the potential uplift that GoBank could provide the company in the not-too-distant future." Green Dot Corporation closed at $13.60 on Friday.