UPDATE: Janney Capital Markets Downgrades Green Dot Corporation to Sell as Competition Intensifies

In a report published Wednesday, Janney Capital Markets analyst Thomas C. McCrohan downgraded the rating on

from Neutral to Sell. In the report, Janney Capital Markets noted, “We are downgrading the shares of Green Dot to Sell, from Neutral, due to intensifying competition from firms with significantly more resources, such as American Express (AXP - $75.25; Neutral, Janney analyst Sameer Gokhale). Last week, American Express announced the launch of a new reloadable prepaid card, branded Serve, in retail stores such as CVS and 7-11 (which will offer zero-fee cash reloads), while the card will have a low $1 monthly maintenance fee. By comparison, Green Dot cards distributed through Walmart (WMT - $74.37; Buy, Janney analyst David Strasser), branded as the Walmart MoneyCard, are priced higher ($3 reload fee and $3 monthly maintenance fee). Paying a fee to reload cash onto a card is an irritant to most consumers, and retailers are beginning to turn to zero-fee reloads as a tool to drive foot traffic. Moreover, new entrants are differentiating on price given that the feature set of reloadable cards has been sufficiently built out (e.g. bill pay, ATM access, etc).” Green Dot Corporation closed on Tuesday at $21.61.