Mastercard edges up after BNP Paribas upgrades to 'outperform'

MasterCard

19/03/2026 14:42

** Card giant Mastercard's MA.N shares tick up 0.4% at $490.29 in morning trading

** BNP Paribas upgrades MA to "outperform" from "neutral"; keeps PT unchanged at $600, implying a 22.8% upside to stock's last close

** Brokerage says too much pessimism is priced into MA stock amid stablecoin disruption and macro concerns

** "Valuation doesn't seem to reflect fundamentals, even factoring in some adverse themes," says BNP Paribas

** Adds that the ongoing Middle East conflict will have a minimal earnings impact considering MA's diversified exposure across spend categories

** 36 of 40 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher and 4 "hold"; median PT $666 - data compiled by LSEG

** As of last close, MA stock down 14.4% YTD

 (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)

 ((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))