Ken Fisher’s Top 5 Stock Picks

4. Visa Inc (NYSE: V)

The second-worst performer among its top ten positions is payment technology company Visa Inc (NYSE: V). Shares of Visa are up only 2% in the last twelve months. The pandemic related traveling restrictions has significantly impacted its share price and financial numbers in 2020. However, the stock has been recovering over the last couple of months amid hopes over the resumption of travel and tourism activities.

Qualivian Investment Partners, which generated 9.1% on a gross and net basis versus the S&P’s 8.93% in the third quarter, claimed in an investor’s letter that Visa is a smart long term investment. Here is what Qualivian Investment Partners stated:

“Visa: was a positive contributor in the quarter, just less so than our other holdings. Visa’s fiscal Q4 quarter (calendar Q3) results were better-than-expected as revenue and EPS beat street expectations driven by stabilizing domestic transaction volumes and good expense control. Although results showed continued pressures from depressed crossborder volumes, which may continue for the foreseeable future as with MA, we believe the worst is behind us and our long-term thesis of V’s structural positioning on the other side of the pandemic remains intact. Looking to the back half of 2021 and going into 2022, we see a recovery in cross-border activity, which together with traditional spending improvements at the POS, leaves considerable room for upside upon reopening. Further, once the macro normalizes (medium term), we believe V (and MA) will continue to benefit from structural drivers including increased contactless payments, more eCommerce transactions, as well as a lift in the value-added services like fraud/gateway/marketing services, and demand for other flows such as B2B, G2C and use of Visa Direct. There is no credible competition on the horizon for the Visa/Mastercard payment networks.”