Hot Fintech Stocks To Watch Right Now Amid PayPal’s Acquisition
Fintech is taking the world by storm and this would naturally highlight fintech stocks in the stock market. The increasing adoption of financial technology may well lead us to a cashless society one day. Well, top fintech companies are well aware of this and are making moves as we speak to cement their spot at the top. For instance, we saw Paypal (NASDAQ: PYPL) announcing that it will acquire Japanese buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup Paidy for $2.7 billion today. This move seeks to deepen Paypal’s push into the BNPL business.
Theoretically, the deal could bring significant upside as Japan is home to the world’s third-largest market for online shopping. However, paper notes are still predominantly used, making up nearly three-quarters of all purchases in the country. Regardless, all of this would indicate that contactless payment services still have room to grow in the region.
Recall that last month, we saw Square (NYSE: SQ) announce its plans to acquire Afterpay (OTCMKTS: AFTPF). Coincidentally, Afterpay is a pioneer in BNPL and would accelerate Square’s strategic priorities for its Seller and Cash App ecosystems. With all these in mind, here is a list of the top four fintech stocks to watch in the stock market now.
Best Fintech Stocks To Watch This Week
- Upstart Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: UPST)
- Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS)
- Futu Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: FUTU)
- Fiserv Inc (NASDAQ: FISV)
Upstart
To start the list, we will be looking at the cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform, Upstart. Essentially, its platform aggregates consumer demand for loans and connects it to its network of Upstart AI-enabled bank partners. UPST stock has been on a strong bullish trend since its inception into the stock market back in December last year. The company stock has risen by over 500% since the start of the year.
Last week, the company announced that its platform for personal loans is now available in Spanish. It will be the first online lending platform for personal loans with full support for Spanish speakers across the U.S. The company recognizes that taking out a loan is an important decision and making sure customers gain full understanding is essential. So, native Spanish speakers will be able to access all relevant information easily and make the financial system as a whole more approachable.
Furthermore, an analyst from Atlantic Equities initiated coverage on the company recently. Simon Clinch gave the fintech company an overweight rating and a $290 price target. He believes that the company stock is in “the very early stages of a long secular growth opportunity”. With all this positive news in place, it is no surprise that investors are responding positively to the company’s stock. So, would you consider investing in UPST stock?
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Goldman Sachs
Next, we have the investment bank Goldman Sachs. To put it simply, the company provides a range of financial services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals. The Company operates in four business segments: Investment Banking, Institutional Client Services, Investing & Lending, and Investment Management. Despite being known traditionally as an investment bank, Goldman Sachs recognizes the need to adopt fintech strategies in its core businesses.
Reports said that Goldman Sachs is planning an initial public offering for its alternative asset managers Petershill Partners on the London Stock Exchange. This could be the latest move to capitalize on a raging market for private equity.
Petershill could raise about $750m in a deal that would value the company at around $5 billion. Petershill holds minority stakes in a number of alternative asset managers including hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital firms.
In addition to that, Goldman Sachs posted strong financial results for its second quarter. It reported a record net revenue of $15.93 billion with net earnings of $5.49 billion. Also, its diluted earnings per common share were $15.02 compared with $0.53 from the prior year’s quarter. Safe to say, the company continues to see strong overall performance. Considering all these, would you add GS stock to your watchlist?
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Futu
Another top fintech name to watch would be Futu. The company engages in offering online brokerage services primarily in China. It also offers margin financing services. Most of the company’s services can be accessed through its digital brokerage platform under the name Futu NiuNiu. FUTU stock has risen over 250% within the past year.
Last week, Futu announced its unaudited second-quarter earnings. Impressively, the company posted total revenues of $203.1 million, an increase of 129.3% year-over-year. In line with that, its net income also increased by 125.8% to $68.7 million. Despite facing challenges due to equities market performances, its total client assets increased to $64.6 billion, a growth of 253.5% year-over-year.
Another metric to look out for would be the number of clients the company now possesses. It now has 15.5 million global users, an increase of 66.8% compared to the previous year’s quarter. Meanwhile, the number of registered clients reached 2.32 million, an increase of 142.5% year-over-year. All these reflect a strong international expansion by the company where Singapore contributed a significant portion to this growth. With that in mind, would FUTU stock be a top fintech stock to watch?
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Fiserv
Fiserv is a global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions. Its offerings cover a wide range of functions ranging from account processing and digital banking solutions to merchant acquiring. On top of that, it also boasts its very own cloud-based point-of-sale solution, Clover.
Last month, the company partnered with Selecta Group to roll out cashless payments across Europe. The partnership aims to enhance and streamline digital payments across its point of sale, and boost operational efficiency for self-service technologies such as vending machines and smart fridges. Well, as consumer habits continue to shift, both companies recognize the need to meet the current and future payment preferences of their clients.
Fiserv certainly isn’t resting on its laurels. Today, the company entered into a collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). NPCI is the leader in retail payments and settlement infrastructure in India. This collaboration would enable the launch of ‘nFiNi’, a service to issue RuPay credit cards. So, fintechs will be able to issue credit cards to their customers and banks will be able to grow their fintech portfolio while maintaining focus on their core offerings. Given these exciting developments, would FISV stock make it to the top of your watchlist?
