UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Upgrades Mastercard to Buy on Secular Transaction Growth

Goldman Sachs upgraded Mastercard

from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $500.00 to $575.00. Goldman Sachs said, "Although MA is exposed to the same trends and secular drivers as V, we believe that the positioning of the shares are somewhat differentiated given its higher exposure to credit (72% of global payment volume) and International positioning which includes Europe and drives 63% of global payment volume. In addition, we focus on its competitive positioning, global growth drivers, high barriers to entry, top quartile ranking in our sector relative framework, and leading EPS growth profile of 18% through our forecast period." Mastercard closed at $517.82 on Tuesday.