Keefe Bruyette downgrades Global Payments on risk after Worldpay deal

Keefe Bruyette analyst Vasundhara Govil downgraded Global Payments (GPN) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $78, down from $135, after the company announced the acquisition of Worldpay and the divestment of its issuer solutions business. The firm believes the transactions further complicates Global Payments’ outlook and increases execution risk. The deal also pushes out the timeline for investors “to gauge the potential for this asset to create shareholder value,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The stock in afternoon trading is down 15%, or $13.03, to $71.09.