BUZZ-Barclays upgrades Capital One and Discover to 'overweight' rating

Barclays upgrades payment firms Capital One COF.N and Discover Financial Services DFS.N to "overweight" from "equal weight" rating

Brokerage says likelihood of COF and DFS merger has increased

Barclays expects the merger to close in early 2025

Last year in February, COF said it will acquire DFS in an all-stock transaction valued at $35.3 bln

Even without the deal, the brokerage expects COF and DFS to trade at the high end, helped by improving credit outlook and built up of excess capital

As of last close, COF and DFS stocks were up ~1.2% and ~1.6% YTD, respectively

(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru)

((Prakhar.srivastava2@thomsonreuters.com))