New York, Jan 28, 2026, 12:49 EST — Regular session
- Visa shares ticked higher in midday trading, standing out amid a flat to mixed session for payment stocks.
- Rothschild Redburn upgraded Visa to “Buy” and bumped up its price target.
- With Visa’s quarterly results set for release after Thursday’s close, traders are already adjusting their positions.
Shares of Visa Inc (V) ticked up 0.2% to $325.90 on Wednesday following Rothschild Redburn’s upgrade of the payments giant to “Buy,” with a price target boost from $327 to $385. The stock fluctuated between $324.52 and $328.36 during the session. 1
Visa’s fiscal first-quarter results are due after the U.S. market closes on Thursday, with a webcast set for 5:00 p.m. Eastern. The company noted it is currently in a standard “quiet period,” so executives won’t engage with investors until the numbers are released. 2
Timing is key. Investors are eyeing the Federal Reserve’s policy decision set for Wednesday, which could shake up rate-sensitive financial stocks and influence consumer credit sentiment. 3
Visa surfaced in deal rumors beyond Wall Street reports. Amenify revealed a partnership with Visa to develop a “resident commerce” system. This lets renters connect an eligible Visa card they already have and earn rewards on rent and local purchases—no new card needed, per S&P Capital IQ. 4
Analyst activity picked up ahead of the earnings release. Cantor Fitzgerald’s Ramsey El-Assal kicked off coverage on Visa with an Overweight rating and set a $400 price target, Benzinga reported. 5
Rothschild & Co Redburn’s Fahed Kunwar weighed in on Mastercard, spotting a shift in “pricing power” moving “away from large merchants back to the card networks.” He attributes this to the rise of “agentic commerce,” where software agents shop on consumers’ behalf. Kunwar added that this spike in agentic commerce risk should boost demand for Visa and Mastercard’s cyber and risk services. 6
Traders zero in on Visa’s fees from security, fraud controls, and other value-added services—not just interchange fees. The company has also relied heavily on cross-border spending, which carries higher margins thanks to travel, whenever conditions allow.
Thursday’s report will quantify that story. Investors want to see data on payment volumes, cross-border transactions, and any rise in incentive costs as networks battle to win over issuers and major merchants.
The downside is obvious. If consumer spending dips, travel cools off, or Visa ramps up incentives to hold its market share, even a slight revenue beat could fall flat — it’s the guidance that really drives these stocks.
Coming up, the Fed will release its statement on Wednesday. Then, after markets close Thursday, Visa will report its earnings, followed by a 5 p.m. Eastern webcast.
