Nu Holdings Ticks Higher After Citi Downgrade; Buyback and Credit Concerns Still Linger

16 June 2026

New York, June 16, 2026, 06:03 (EDT)

• Nu Holdings finished Monday at $12.43, gaining 1.97%. Shares edged higher early Tuesday before the open.
• Citigroup dropped its NU rating to Neutral from Buy and lowered its price target to $13, down from $18.
• Focus has turned to second-quarter credit quality and margins, moving away from just watching customer growth.

Nu Holdings Ltd. NYSE:NU, parent of Nubank, gained Monday. The stock closed 1.97% higher at $12.43 and edged up to $12.46 early Tuesday, according to MarketScreener. This followed a Wall Street downgrade, but NU shares held up and the Latin American fintech theme stayed in play. U.S. stocks ran higher, with the S&P 500 up 1.7% and the Nasdaq advancing 3.1%, as traders took on more risk with oil moving lower, AP said.

Nu Holdings picked up another downgrade. Citigroup lowered its rating to Neutral from Buy and dropped its price target to $13 from $18. The move comes after BofA Securities and Susquehanna both cut NU earlier this month. BofA has shares at Underperform and a $10 target, pointing to concerns about the new CFO. Susquehanna shifted to Neutral too, kept the price target at $13, and flagged rising costs and margin squeeze, according to Investing.com and Investing.com.

NU shares traded up even as the downgrade hit, with markets in a risk-on mode. Some of the bearish arguments were already out there. The stock is still trading close to its 52-week low, around $11.21, well below the $18.98 high, according to Markets Insider. On June 4 the company launched a $1 billion buyback, which gave bulls something to hold onto. Buybacks cut the share count and can help per-share numbers, but credit and execution risk remain. Nu said the buyback will run for 12 months with no set number of shares, according to its official announcement.

Nubank bulls say it’s all about the growth. In Q1 2026, Nu crossed 135 million customers and topped $5 billion in revenue. Net income came in at $871 million, and ROE was 29%. That’s profit against equity. In its Q1 numbers, the company said it’s hit breakeven in Mexico with 15 million customers. Brazil remains the biggest market. Some investors point to the ongoing profits, rising customer base and a buyback for why Nu shares get Buy ratings in some market-data screens.

Susquehanna analysts say operating margin pressure is the main part of the bear argument for Nu’s growth quality. They point to credit expansion, new spending in Mexico, and a CFO switch. Nu said Rob Livingston, Visa’s former North America CFO, will become CFO July 13. He replaces Guilherme Lago, who will act as special adviser until August 31, according to a June SEC filing. Analysts are watching credit-loss provisions. Rapid loan growth supports Nubank revenue, but if credit quality drops, profits can take a hit.

NU is changing hands at levels some see as fair, but risk is up. Bulls mention scale, profits, and the buyback. On the downside, shares face several recent downgrades, stay stuck near lows, and margin pressure plus credit quality issues hang over the story. Q2 earnings now in focus. Investors are waiting to see if loan growth can come through without hurting credit metrics or squeezing margins.

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Khadija Saeed is a financial markets reporter at TS2.tech. Her coverage ranges from stocks and technology to emerging industries and developments across global markets. She studied economics and finance at the London School of Economics and worked in market research before becoming a financial journalist. Follow Khadija Saeed on Google News.

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