First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) Share Price Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• First Foundation Inc.'s shares have crossed below their fifty-day moving average of $5.22, trading as low as $4.91 during recent trading sessions.
• Piper Sandler downgraded First Foundation's target price from $6.00 to $5.50 and assigned a "neutral" rating, while Wall Street Zen lowered its rating from "hold" to "sell."
• Institutional investors hold 73.10% of First Foundation's stock, with significant recent stake increases from firms like Prudential Financial and Creative Planning.

First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM - Get Free Report) shares passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.22 and traded as low as $4.91. First Foundation shares last traded at $5.23, with a volume of 715,867 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FFWM shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 price objective on shares of First Foundation and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Foundation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of First Foundation from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st.

First Foundation Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $5.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $464.25 million, a PE ratio of -4.21 and a beta of 1.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Foundation by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,824,803 shares of the bank's stock worth $23,752,000 after acquiring an additional 774,844 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in First Foundation by 234.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 167,940 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 117,730 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Foundation by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,473 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,898,000 after purchasing an additional 176,510 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 35,393 shares of the bank's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 9,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 220,910 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 6,948 shares in the last quarter. 73.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Foundation

First Foundation Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides banking services, investment advisory, wealth management, and trust services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Wealth Management. It offers a range of deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing demand deposit accounts, money market accounts, and time certificate of deposits; and loan products consisting of multifamily and single family residential real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, commercial term loans, and line of credits, as well as consumer loans, such as personal installment loans and line of credits, and home equity line of credits.