American Express shares gain the most in a week on Thursday, company launches American Express Go, its latest digital payments solution

American Express Company (AXP) said on Thursday that it had launched American Express Go, its latest digital solution for mid-sized and large enterprises, which allows for the efficient handling of business expenditures for employees, recruits and temporary workers without corporate cards.

At the same time, individuals working on a freelance basis as well as project-based workers will be able to make business purchases by using company funds, thus, there is no need for a reimbursement process.

American Express shares closed higher for the fifth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Thursday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since November 7th. The stock went up 1.70% ($1.83) to $109.60, after touching an intraday high at $109.69, or a price level not seen since September 26th ($110.11).

Shares of American Express Company have risen 10.36% so far in 2018 compared with a 2.12% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, American Express Co’s stock surged 34.06%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

“Mid-sized and large companies are operating with a new, dynamic workforce, as they increasingly employ freelancers and contractors, who previously had to wait for several weeks to be reimbursed for business and travel purchases,” Gint Balodis, Vice President, Global B2B Products, American Express Global Commercial Services, said in a statement.

“American Express Go was created to alleviate customer pain points faced by companies and their changing workforce by combining the control and flexibility of Virtual Cards with the convenience of a physical Card that can be swiped on the go,” Balodis added.

The latest offering is powered by American Express vPayment, a digital payments solution with which business customers will be able to create specific-use virtual account numbers with per-authorized spend controls and enhanced data capture, the company said.

According to CNN Money, the 26 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding American Express Co’s stock price, have a median target of $115.00, with a high estimate of $131.00 and a low estimate of $91.00. The median estimate represents a 4.93% upside compared to the closing price of $109.60 on November 15th.

The same media also reported that 15 out of 32 surveyed investment analysts had rated American Express Co’s stock as “Hold”, while 13 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 2 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for American Express Company (AXP) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $107.14
R1 – $110.47
R2 – $112.67
R3 – $116.00
R4 – $119.34

S1 – $104.94
S2 – $101.61
S3 – $99.41
S4 – $97.22