Investing.com -- Morgan Stanley upgraded Global Payments to Overweight from Equal-weight and raised its price target to $100 from $65, arguing the payments processor offers an attractive risk-reward profile as improving execution, stronger buyback capacity and a depressed valuation create room for a significant rerating.

The brokerage said recent channel checks point to improving competitive positioning for both the company's Genius small-business platform and the recently acquired Worldpay business. Feedback from enterprise customers indicated Worldpay's product offering, ease of adoption and customer service have improved, while Genius is gaining traction with small and medium-sized businesses, supporting expectations for durable mid-single-digit revenue growth.

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Morgan Stanley also said investors appear increasingly willing to revisit the stock given its historically low valuation, provided management delivers cleaner execution, greater disclosure transparency and early evidence of Worldpay integration synergies. The broker believes only modest operational improvements could drive a rerating, particularly if the broader equity rally expands beyond artificial intelligence-related stocks into value-oriented sectors.

The brokerage raised its 2027 and 2028 share repurchase forecasts to about $3 billion annually, citing stronger confidence in Global Payments' free cash flow generation and capital allocation. It now expects buybacks to become a meaningful contributor to earnings per share growth over the coming years.

Morgan Stanley trimmed its 2026 adjusted revenue growth forecast to 4% from 5%, reflecting ongoing weakness in Middle East travel, but increased its growth outlook for 2027 and 2028 to 6% annually. It also lifted its 2027 adjusted EPS estimate to $16.30 from $15.82, while projecting 2028 adjusted EPS of $20.71.

The brokerage acknowledged risks from the complex Worldpay integration, earnings quality concerns and continued disruption to Middle East travel, but said these issues are already reflected in the stock's valuation, which it views as excessively pessimistic relative to the company's long-term growth prospects.