The IPO Board

[MLD38]

03/03/08, Barron's Follow Up : Subdued Vista for Visa's IPO ;

webpage also includes "Earnings Surge Could Power Constellation ; At LDK Sunlight Would Disinfect"
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB120432886290404199.html?mod=yahoobarrons&ru=yahoo

"Subdued Vista for Visa's IPO" section starts off:

SOON, INVESTORS WILL HAVE THE SAME CHOICE RESTAURANT guests are given as the dessert plates are cleared: MasterCard or Visa?

Visa last week formalized its plan to go public, nearly two years after its smaller competitor came to market. In the interim, MasterCard shares (ticker: MA) have surged about 400%. Ahead of MasterCard's IPO, Barron's wrote favorably about the stock's prospects ("Finally Charging Ahead," May 13, 2006), though we hopped off the MasterCard bandwagon in some cautionary follow-ups well short of the current stock price around 190.

While Visa benefits from the same long-term global growth in credit- and debit-card usage as MasterCard, it's unlikely Visa shares will deliver as sweet a return for investors.

Though they probably will be worth owning in the future, investors shouldn't bid too aggressively if they jump much above the company's planned price range of $37 to $42."...