Some Earnings Stirrings For Payments Stocks

(Editor’s note: Forgive the lack of graphics-based data, as per usual. We at PYMNTS are working through some technical issues and will endeavor to have that part of the weekly stock column restored as soon as possible.)

Overall a quiet week for stocks just passed, ending last Friday (Feb. 17), and most names on our list were actually flat in terms of percentage changes. Muted performances were seen in names such as Planet Payments, Net 1 UEPS Technologies and PayPal, to name a few. In the case of the former, adjusted earnings per share met the Street at $0.43 per share, and gross margins widened year over year in the latest quarter to more than 44 percent from 40 percent a year ago. Earnings growth paced margin improvements even as revenues were flat at $155 million. Management pointed out continued efforts in digital banking as drivers of success and longer-term plans.

But in terms of stock swings, the biggest movements were seen in USA Technologies, which finished the period down 11 percent and which marked a downdraft from a 20 percent spike seen earlier in the month, when the company said it inked a deal with several Pepsi bottlers. Under the terms of that agreement, USA Technologies will bring its cashless payments technology to vending machines tied to half a dozen bottlers across North and South Carolina in the U.S.

Mitek Systems shares were up 7 percent this week, as shares rebounded from earnings results in the month, and Needham and Co, a sell side firm, lowered its price target for the name to $8 from $9.50 yet maintained a “Buy” rating. The shares have recently been at around $6.15. The company’s revenues were up 25 percent year over year to $9.3 million, above the Street, where deposits were on the upswing, especially as ties in to mobile deposits.