Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ:MQ) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $5.00 to $4.25. The stock had previously closed at $4.16, but opened at $3.80. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Marqeta shares last traded at $3.9710, with a volume of 1,966,953 shares.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on MQ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Marqeta in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Marqeta from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded Marqeta from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Marqeta from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho restated 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marqeta has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.14.

Insider Activity at Marqeta

In other news, Director Jason M. Gardner sold 113,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total value of $566,830.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 303,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,517,335. This trade represents a 27.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 218,509 shares of company stock valued at $1,092,545 over the last three months. 12.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Marqeta News

Here are the key news stories impacting Marqeta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat Street expectations: break‑even EPS (vs. a loss expected) and revenue of $172.1M (+26.7% YoY), plus management highlighted record TPV and demand in BNPL/embedded finance — a clear near‑term positive for growth sentiment. MarketBeat Q4 coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Management set a 2026 gross‑profit growth target of 10%–12% and reiterated plans to expand value‑added services and Europe presence — guidance that supports revenue/operating leverage expectations if execution holds. Seeking Alpha: 2026 guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target (from $6 to $5) and kept an equal‑weight rating — a modest analyst downgrade but still implies upside from current levels, so this is a mixed signal for investors. The Fly: Morgan Stanley PT cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials and the full call transcript/slides are available for deeper read — useful for assessing unit economics, margin drivers, and timeline for the 2026 targets. (Call transcript and slide deck detail execution plans.) Seeking Alpha: Q4 transcript
• Negative Sentiment: TipRanks flagged a newly disclosed risk around restricted client cash at subsidiaries, highlighting potential regulatory, operational and cyber exposures that could create liabilities or capital constraints — a meaningful governance/operational risk for investors to monitor. TipRanks: restricted client cash risk
• Negative Sentiment: Halper Sadeh LLC announced an investor probe into whether Marqeta officers/directors breached fiduciary duties — potential litigation/board governance overhang that can weigh on sentiment until resolved. PR Newswire: Halper Sadeh probe
• Negative Sentiment: UBS reduced its price target (from $5 to $4.25) and assigned a neutral rating — another analyst cut that may cap short‑term upside and reflects caution around margins/risks. Benzinga: UBS PT cut

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marqeta

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MQ. Certuity LLC increased its position in shares of Marqeta by 22.3% during the third quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 14,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Marqeta by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 66,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Marqeta by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 101,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Marqeta by 82.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. grew its stake in Marqeta by 3.1% during the second quarter. Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. now owns 95,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,839 shares during the period. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marqeta Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -130.67 and a beta of 1.48.

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $172.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.05 million. Marqeta had a negative net margin of 2.23% and a negative return on equity of 1.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.05) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marqeta, Inc. will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Marqeta

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.