CNBC
Mizuho analysts initiated coverage of nine payment stocks on Thursday, saying in a note they were “most enthused” about PayPal, Visa, Square, Fiserv and WEX based on their analysis of the companies’ market share gains and other key metrics.
One particular corner of the space is gaining steam faster than others. Digital payment darlings Square and PayPal are up 149% and 89% year to date while credit card giants Mastercard and Visa are up 19% and 12%, respectively. Fidelity National Information Services is up about 9%. Global Payments, Fleetcor, Fiserv and WEX are all down for the year.
Square’s stock closed more than 1% higher on Thursday following a record intraday high. PayPal shares ended trading less than half of 1% higher after also hitting an all-time high.