As previously reported, Atlantic Equities analyst Kunaal Malde upgraded First Data (FDC) to Overweight from Neutral, stating that its prior acquisitions of CardConnect and BluePay have given it a foothold in higher growth segments and the company is now "on a clear path to deleveraging." He also believes the payment processor sector remains attractive, given secular volume tailwinds, ongoing consolidation opportunities and what he views as "reasonable valuations." Malde raised his price target on First Data shares to $30 from $18, increased his target on Global Payments (GPN) to $144 from $132 and upped his target on Worldpay (WP) to $113 from $99. Malde now has Overweight ratings on all three of the payment processors' stocks.