Credit card giant Mastercard is just a tiny bit below a buy point amid strong sales and profit growth. On Monday, the IBD Relative Strength (RS) Rating for Mastercard stock climbed six points to 74.
Mastercard stock is trying to complete a saucer-with-handle base that began in late March, with a 490 buy point. Monday afternoon Mastercard traded near 488, just a whisker away from the buy point. See if it can clear the breakout price in strong volume, ideally 40% or more above average.
Mastercard Sales, Profit Growth Accelerated Last Quarter
Mastercard earnings grew 24% last quarter, to $3.59 per share. That was up from 18% growth in the prior report. Revenue growth also accelerated slightly quarter over quarter, from 10% to 11%, or $6.96 billion. The prior three stanzas Mastercard reported EPS gains of 26%, 20% and 18% on a year-over-year basis as revenue grew 13%, 13% and 10%.
The upgraded 74 Relative Strength Rating shows that Mastercard tops roughly three-fourths of all other stocks for price gains this past year. IBD market research shows that the market's biggest winners tend to have an RS Rating over 80 in the early innings of their moves. See if Mastercard can climb the last six points to hit that benchmark.
Can You Really Time The Stock Market?
Among other ratings Mastercard has an outstanding 94 EPS Rating, putting it in the top 6% of stocks for recent and long-term profit growth. It has a reputable 85 Composite Rating and a best-possible A SMR Rating (sales + profit margins + return on equity) on an A-to-E scale.
Among Top 5 In Its Industry
One caution flag is its C- Accumulation/Distribution Rating, which shows that funds are selling slightly more of its stock than buying. Look for that to improve to a C or better.
Mastercard holds the No. 4 rank among its peers in the 37-stock Finance-Card/Payment Processing industry group. buy-now, pay-later specialist Shift4 is the top-ranked stock in the group.
The exclusive Relative Strength Rating from Investor's Business Daily identifies price action with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The rating shows how a stock's price behavior over the trailing 52 weeks compares to all the other stocks in our database.
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