Why Fiserv Stock Flopped Today
Key Points
It's been an uncharacteristically eventful February for the fintech.
On Monday, an analyst cut his price target on the company.
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Veteran fintech company Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) was looking a bit haggard on Monday, at least as far as its equity was concerned. Investors traded out of the stock following an analyst's price target cut; at the end of the trading session Fiserv had tumbled by almost 5%.
A pundit's reduction
The man behind that move was B. Riley prognosticator Hal Goetsch, who reduced his Fiserv price target to $69 per share from his preceding level of $72. He maintained his existing recommendation on the stock, which was and is neutral.
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Goetsch's relatively modest yet impactful cut was due to his belief that Fiserv is set to endure several quarters of year-over-year declines in earnings per share (EPS), according to reports. Mitigating this for patient investors will be a recovery starting next year; ultimately, the analyst is modeling a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the company just shy of 5% for the 2023-2027 period.
Although not typically a focus of financial news headlines, Fiserv has seen several notable events lately. Last week, well-known activist investor Jana Partners disclosed a small (under 1%) stake in the company and is reportedly pushing management to make changes in the way it does business.
Modest rises
The previous week, Fiserv published its final set of 2025 results. Although it beat on both the top and bottom lines in the fourth quarter, its revenue growth was only 1% year over year. Compounding that, it's expecting a maximum expansion of 3% in the metric for the entirety of 2026; the 2025 number was 4%.
Fiserv is a reliable operator in the traditional fintech space. What it isn't is an exciting and innovative, high-potential business. It's not inherently a buy for me, but I'd keep an eye on it to see how Jana's involvement changes (or doesn't) its strategy.
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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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