HALISTER1: Buy Western Union; Too Early to Know MoneyGram Impact, BTIG Says

Buy Western Union; Too Early to Know MoneyGram Impact, BTIG Says

(Bloomberg) -- Investors should still buy shares of Western Union, as it’s premature to assume there will be any “meaningful impact” from MoneyGram’s deal with Alibaba’s Ant Financial, BTIG’s Mark Palmer writes in note.
  • MGI-BABA deal and SEC fraud settlement are both priced into stock; WU has shown it can survive legal/regulatory woes and competition, and is poised to “weather its current challenges”
  • WU’s digital opportunities are “in no way reflected in the stock’s multiple;” online rollout in new countries is an “underappreciated source of future upside”
  • WU has 4 buys, 15 holds, 9 sells, avg PT $20: Bloomberg data
  • NOTE: Earlier, MGI was downgraded at First Analysis and William Blair
    • First Analysis analyst Larry Berlin sees “greater than normal uncertainty” given Trump’s policies on cross- border deals and fact that buyer is Chinese
    • William Blair’s Robert Napoli sees deal posing threat to PayPal since AliPay is a subsidiary of Ant Financial
  • NOTE: Earlier, Jack Ma Not Making It Easy for Western Union as Shares Slide
Alert: HALISTER1
Source: BFW (Bloomberg First Word)

Tickers
MGI US (MoneyGram International Inc)
WU US (Western Union Co/The)
BABA US (Alibaba Group Holding Ltd)
0174634D CH (Alipay.com Co Ltd)

People
Mark Palmer (BTIG LLC)
Lawrence Berlin (First Analysis Corp)
Robert Napoli (William Blair & Co LLC)

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