Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ:MQ)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $3.51, but opened at $4.01. Marqeta shares last traded at $4.24, with a volume of 4,839,128 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $135.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.71 million. Marqeta had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 1.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Marqeta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. William Blair lowered shares of Marqeta from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Marqeta from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $4.00 target price (down from $5.00) on shares of Marqeta in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Marqeta from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.65.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marqeta

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MQ. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Marqeta in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marqeta during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Marqeta by 1,255.4% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 10,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 9,290 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Marqeta by 125.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Marqeta during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marqeta Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 212.75 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.40.

Marqeta Company Profile

Marqeta, Inc operates a cloud-based open application programming interface platform that delivers card issuing and transaction processing services. It offers its solutions in various verticals, including financial services, on-demand services, expense management, and e-commerce enablement, as well as buy now, pay later.