MasterCard price target raised to $480 from $425 at Jefferies

Jefferies raised the firm’s price target on MasterCard (MA) to $480 from $425 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Year-to-date performance has largely been driven by multiple expansion, says the firm, which believes the networks are “best used for defense with the ability to preserve EPS if the consumer slows.” Given the current premium and Visa (V) framing 2024 as a “normal,” the firm sees pressure on MasterCard to guide to faster growth than Visa in 2024, but it has confidence that it can as the firm believes the forces behind MasterCard’s recent yield weakness should ease, the analyst tells investors.