Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) Stock Price

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 27.91% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Marqeta in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $4.50 target price (down from $8.00) on shares of Marqeta in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Marqeta in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Marqeta from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Marqeta from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.22.

Marqeta Stock Performance

MQ stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,030,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,830,969. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.98. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.86 and a beta of 1.48. Marqeta has a twelve month low of $3.47 and a twelve month high of $7.04.

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.01. Marqeta had a negative net margin of 6.74% and a negative return on equity of 4.22%. The firm had revenue of $172.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.05) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Marqeta will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marqeta news, Director Jason M. Gardner sold 113,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $566,830.00. Following the sale, the director owned 303,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,517,335. The trade was a 27.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 218,509 shares of company stock valued at $1,092,545. Company insiders own 12.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marqeta

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Marqeta during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of Marqeta during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marqeta by 82.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 2,821 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Marqeta during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Amundi bought a new stake in Marqeta in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

More Marqeta News

Here are the key news stories impacting Marqeta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations: Marqeta reported $172.1M in revenue (up ~26.7% YoY) and break‑even EPS, topping consensus revenue and EPS estimates. Strong top‑line growth and the EPS improvement versus a year‑ago loss were the core upside drivers. Press Release / Slides
• Positive Sentiment: Record TPV and scale milestones: Management highlighted record total payment volume and continued customer activation/scale on the platform — evidence of sustained demand for card issuing, BNPL and embedded finance use cases. Earnings Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/market momentum but uncertain near‑term margin impact: Call commentary emphasized BNPL growth and embedded finance adoption, which underpin long‑term TAM expansion, but timing and margin contribution from these segments remain unclear. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 revenue guidance raised vs. consensus: Marqeta gave FY2026 revenue guidance of roughly $699.9M–$712.4M, which is above the Street estimate — positive for medium‑term revenue visibility but not a full proof of profitability improvement. Guidance / Call Materials
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 revenue guide slightly light: The Q1 2026 revenue outlook ($162.7M–$165.5M) came in a touch below consensus (~$167.2M), creating near‑term revenue uncertainty that likely pressured the stock despite the FY guide. Guidance / Call Materials
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability still a concern: Marqeta reported a negative net margin and negative return on equity; the company remains unprofitable on a GAAP basis (PE negative), so investors are sensitive to guidance and path to sustained positive margins. Zacks Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Immediate market reaction was negative: Several articles note the stock fell after the release — suggesting investors wanted either stronger near‑term guidance or clearer margin improvement despite good top‑line and TPV metrics. Market Reaction

Marqeta Company Profile

Marqeta is a modern card issuing and payment processing platform that enables businesses to design, launch and manage customized payment cards. The company offers a fully programmable open API that allows clients to create virtual, physical and tokenized payment cards with real-time transaction controls and dynamic spend limits. By leveraging Marqeta’s infrastructure, companies can streamline their payment operations, reduce time to market and deliver tailored payment experiences to end consumers.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Oakland, California, Marqeta was established by CEO Jason Gardner with the goal of transforming traditional card issuance through cloud-native technology.