Verifone Gets Real Boost From Apple Pay

Wall Street is starting to notice the many benefactors of payments changed fueled by Apple Pay and at the top of that list is now VeriFone, reports Barron’s.

The rationale is that Apple Pay will push a new wave of POS upgrades to support NFC. And “VeriFone Systems, which has about a 60 percent share of retail payment terminals in the U.S., will get a big piece of the pie. After a blip last year, sales are likely to grow 9 percent, to $1.9 billion in the fiscal year that ends this month. They should continue to grow as retailers move to newer terminals that support near field communication, or NFC, as well as new standards for chip-enabled credit cards,” reported Barron’s.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer had similar thoughts on his show, encouraging views to buy VeriFone stock.

But Barron’s saw other potential benefactors, too.

“Sterne Agee analyst Vijay Rakesh thinks Apple Pay and other mobile-pay systems could drive up to $700 million in new annual revenue for chip maker NXP. The company makes the NFC radio in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, along with the ‘secure element’ that stores payment data on the phone. This year, revenue could reach $5.6 billion, up 17 percent, with net income climbing 41 percent, to $1.2 billion. At just 12 times forward earnings, the stock is cheap relative to growth. Rakesh has a price target of $82 on NXP, 25 percent above the recent close,” the story noted.

It also said that Synaptics, which builds biometric sensors fir Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers, could also benefit as the new iPhones legitimize phone biometrics.