JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target to $86.50

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase cut its price target on Wells Fargo from $91.00 to $86.50 and maintained a "neutral" rating, implying roughly a 5.0% upside from the prior close.
• Analysts overall still show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $97.53, but recent individual ratings range widely from "sell" to "buy."
• WFC traded near $82.37 after reporting Q1 EPS of $1.60 (beating estimates by $0.02); insiders sold about 115,000 shares in the last 90 days while institutional investors own roughly 75.9% of the stock.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price target dropped by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $91.00 to $86.50 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.01% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.1%

WFC stock traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $82.37. The company had a trading volume of 13,519,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,269,430. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $254.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.95 and a 200 day moving average of $86.17. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $70.43 and a 12 month high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 472.4% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors approved Wells Fargo’s board slate, executive pay and auditor at the April 28 annual meeting — a governance win that reduces activist uncertainty and supports management’s strategic agenda. Wells Fargo Shareholders Back Board, Pay and Auditor
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is partnering with Mastercard to target friction in B2B card payments — a growth initiative that could expand fee revenue and corporate card volumes over time. This product push supports the bank’s effort to diversify non‑interest income. Mastercard and Wells Fargo Target the Friction Slowing B2B Cards
• Positive Sentiment: The Wall Street Journal reports Wells Fargo is escalating its Wall Street/trading business now that regulatory constraints have eased — an expected profit‑accretive move if markets and flow businesses scale as management forecasts. Wells Fargo's Long-Anticipated Wall Street Expansion Is Here
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo research activity (analyst notes on other companies such as Hinge Health or coverage moves like ARM) highlights the bank’s analytical footprint but has indirect effects on WFC’s stock. These items mostly reflect analyst workflow rather than WFC fundamentals. Analyst Reiterates Buy on Hinge Health
• Negative Sentiment: Card spending data from recent analysis showed near‑flat daily credit/debit usage ex‑gasoline, signaling softer consumer activity and raising questions about future card volumes and interchange revenue. That feeds valuation concern and pressure on near‑term revenue growth. Wells Fargo (WFC) Valuation Check As Card Spending Softens And Net Interest Income Concerns Grow
• Negative Sentiment: Opinion pieces urging caution ("3 Reasons to Avoid WFC") highlight investor worries about growth, execution and relative performance — these narratives can amplify selling pressure if earnings or guidance disappoint. 3 Reasons to Avoid WFC and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

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