UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Reiterates Overweight Rating, Lowers PT on Moneygram International

In a report published Friday, Piper Jaffray & Co. reiterated its Overweight rating on Moneygram International (NYSE: MGI), but lowered its price target from $19.00 to $17.50.

Piper Jaffray noted, “We recently met with CEO Pamela Patsley and CFO Alex Holmes. Overall, we believe the core business remains relatively stable with minor headwinds from recent WU price initiatives. MGI matched WU in some corridors, by reducing pricing for WMT to LatAm (including Mexico) by ~$2/trans. According to MGI, if it matched WU's price reductions across the board, it would create a ~$40-50M revenue headwind. Furthermore, we believe MGI is beginning the process to refinance the $325M, 13.25%, Goldman note, at or shortly after the first call date on 3/25/13. Lastly, MGI clearly remains committed to recoup CDO losses via its ~$400M lawsuit against several large banks. Management indicated some resolutions could come as early as 2013, with most in 2014. We reiterate our Overweight rating as we believe MGI continues to deliver adequate growth. However, we are reducing our PT to $17.50 from $19 due to macro and industry pressures.”

Moneygram International closed on Thursday at $14.06.