Stock Picks: MasterCard, Comcast

Plus Wall Street analyst opinions on C.R. Bard and STEC

MasterCard (MC)

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods maintains outperform; raises estimates, price target

KBW analyst Sanjay Sakhrani lifted earnings estimates on MasterCard on Nov. 4 after the company's "solid" earnings results.

"We think results were solid, particularly in light of continued weakness in consumer spending and broader macroeconomic weakness," the analyst wrote in a Nov. 4 note. Sakhrani thinks that MaterCard and Visa (V) remain attractive investments to the extent global consumer spending improves in the near future. The analyst also thinks there are "tailwinds" into 2010 for MasterCard in the form of gas prices, a weaker U.S. dollar and easier comparisons.

"These, coupled with the fact that the company continues to rationalize its cost base, should allow the company to post solid earnings growth," the analyst wrote.

Sakhrani lifted earnings per share (EPS) estimates for 2009 to $11.33 from $11.15 and for 2010 to $13.40 from $13.00), and raised a 12-month price target to $237 from $229.

Comcast Corp. (CMCSK) (CMCSA)

Standard & Poor's Equity Research keeps strong sell

S&P equity analyst Tuna Amobi said on Nov. 4 that Comcast's third-quarter EPS of 24 cents (before a 9-cent tax benefit) were 3 cents shy of his estimate and one cent below the Wall Street consensus view. But Amobi noted significant improvement in third-quarter unit growth of nearly 1.1 million, almost matching the figure for the first half of 2009, with gains in digital, data and voice far outweighing further basic subscriber losses. "Pricing power also seems to be holding up in a highly competitive environment," he wrote in a Nov. 4 note.

Still, Amobi noted that improved fundamental sentiment could be overshadowed near-term by capital allocation questions, amid evidently advanced talks for Comcast to gain potential control of General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal unit.

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