Wall Street pros can't seem to agree on a blowout report this earnings season. Nu (NU -1.21%) seemed to check off all of the right boxes after posting fresh quarterly results earlier this week. Revenue soared 87% on a currency-adjusted basis for the Latin American provider of digital financial services, easily topping expectations.
Nu's profit was more than double what the market was modeling. It's outlook wasn't problematic.
The shares opened nicely higher on Tuesday in response, soaring as high as 14% at one point before paring back the day's gains to close with a decent 5% gain. The stock has closed higher through the first four trading days of the week -- a 10% ascent.
However, a pair of analysts seem to be passing ships here. One Wall Street pro is downgrading the stock, lowering his price target on Nu. The other pro is raising his price goal to where the other analyst was previously perched.
Who is wrong? Who is right?
More importantly, are you ready to break from conflicting opinions to arrive at your own conclusion? Let's take a closer look at the two moves before shedding more insight into the matter.
It was the best of times
Mario Pierry at Bank of America Securities boosted his price target on the stock from $5.50 to $7 following Tuesday morning's financial update. He feels that Nu's strong report confirms that the Nubank business model is working.
Customer accounts have increased by 33% to 79.1 million by the end of March, topping the 80 million milestone by early April. Engagement and average revenue per account are on the rise.
Nu's digital bank has become ubiquitous in its home turf of Brazil, where 46% of the country's adult population has an account. The cycle is earlier along in Mexico and Colombia.
Pierry is increasing his goal for the share price but sticking to his neutral rating on the investment. He feels that the stock is already up 30% over the past month, anticipating what turned out to be a strong quarter. The stock's premium valuation and the overhang of potentially negative regulatory changes to the Brazilian credit card industry have him hesitant to upgrade Nu, but jacking up his price target by 27% is as encouraging as it is notable.
Image source: Getty Images.
It was the worst of times
As Pierry got more optimistic about the direction of Nu stock in the near term, Ashwin Shirvaikar at Citi went the other way. Citi downgraded the stock from buy to neutral following its first-quarter performance. His price target of $7 -- where Pierry currently sits-- has been whittled down to $6.10.
Shirvaikar sees some headwinds that could decelerate the heady growth at Nu. His concerns include interchange caps on pre-paid cards, the deterioration of card payments volume, and the possibility of changes in revolving lines of credit, interest rates, and higher capital requirements.
It was the age of wisdom
The most successful investors don't merely parrot the advice of Wall Street pros. They pay attention to the bulls; they pay attention to the bears. Then they come to their own conclusions.
Nu's growth has been impressive and is just scratching the surface. Its average revenue per account is on the rise but is still barely a third of what legacy banks are collecting. It's expanding its offerings -- it rolled out payday loans in Brazil last month. There's a lot of Latin America to explore as the company runs out of room for growth in its home country.
The risks are certainly there. Fintech stocks are prone to regulatory risks and economic slumps. Latin America also has historically had inflationary and geopolitical concerns. For investors who are comfortable with the substantial risks, the ceiling is high, and it's perfectly fine (if not welcome) when not all analysts see Nu the same way.
