Networks See Drop In Static Stock Week For PYMNTS

The payments industry saw a change in value of just 0.06 percent on the stock market this week amid modest gains by the POS equipment/software industry and modest losses by two of the major U.S. networks.

MICROS systems finished as the top performer of the week, jumping 7.71 percent to reach $45.64 per share. MICROS saw its value rise after ValueAct capital took a 7.5 percent stake in the company.

MICROS helped lead the POS equipment/software industry to 0.73 percent gain: the best of payments subset this week. Fellow POS company VeriFone also had a strong showing, gaining 4.33 percent as it attempts to recoup some value after dropping by nearly 40 percent in the past month.

The overall success of the POS industry, however, was curtailed by the performances of USA Technologies and Ingenico, which finished in the bottom two slots on our index. USA Technologies dropped -3.09 percent to $2.51, while Ingenico lost -4.18 percent to hit $44.64.

Amid payment subsets the networks industry finished with the worst performance last week, dropping -0.51 percent. The smallest of the networks, Discover, had our second strongest week, gaining 6.43 percent to reach $44.14 per share. The company announced that it would roll out home equity loans and would partner with Nigerian company Interswitch at different points last week. American Express also had a solid showing, gaining 2.13 percent to hit $66.09.

The two larger networks, however, dragged the rest of the industry down. Visa dropped -1.62 percent after revealing new 2013 forecasts in the middle of the week. MasterCard followed suit, dropping -2.32 percent to hit $519.37. Visa’s ending price was $158.55.