Baird Comments On Visa CEO Exit, F2017 Guidance

Baird believes the CEO transition makes it “mildly less likely” for Visa Inc V’s F2017 outlook to top the Street. However, the brokerage reiterated its Outperform rating, as it likes the risk/reward on the stock over the next 12 months.

Visa, a payments tech firm, announced the exit of CEO Charlie Scharf for personal reasons. It named Alfred Kelly, a current board member, as Scharf’s successor, effective December 1.

“On the margin, we think that the transition makes it mildly less likely that initial F2017 guidance will be above consensus (we still think guidance will be around consensus),” analyst David Koning wrote in a note.

Related Link: Visa Says Charlie Scharf Out As CEO; Alfred Kelly Named Replacement

While Baird acknowledged that the CEO departure may create some investor uncertainty, it believes the move “had nothing to do with the business fundamentals.”

On the conference call, the company neither provided an update to business trends nor any commentary on F2017.

Koning has a price target of $95 on the stock, which is currently down 0.56 percent to $81.69.

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