JMP Securities analyst David Scharf downgraded Alliance Data to Market Perform from Outperform. The analyst cites his study of retailer data reducing his conviction in the company's growth targets for its portfolio over the near term as well as questioning its longer-term durability and competitive position. The analyst is also concerned with the yield outlook of "many of the company's newer and faster-growing retail clients." Scharf adds that while Alliance Data stock price has corrected to just 5-times his expected 2020 earnings, he sees the current valuation as fair.