Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) shares burst out of the gate on Friday, reversing recent performance, as Wall Street analysts suggested investors buy ahead of the company's filing of an annual report.
Earlier in the day, Goldman Sachs analysts added the stock to its firm's "conviction buy" list from a previous rating of neutral. Additionally, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher Mutascio said the recent sell-off in Wells Fargo, related to the abrupt departure of the bank's former CFO, is overdone. Mutascio believes the resignation of the executive, Howard Atkins, was announced after the close on Feb. 8. Since that time, Wells' share price has plunged 7.8%.
Wells Fargo Investors Want Answers
"Given the number of times management has denied that the CFO's departure has anything to do with the company's financial condition or its financial reporting," said Mutascio, "we would be buyers into the release of the company's 10-K as we do not believe there will be any restatements or surprise disclosures tied to the CFO's departure contained within the regulatory filing."
The analyst made an especially bullish call on the stock, saying it not only offer long-term value but was a great short-term play as well. Mustacio also said that Wells, at current price levels, is a better deal than other large-cap peers that were trading lower in recent days.
The sell-off in Wells' stock was exacerbated by another analyst's assertion earlier this month that Atkins left because he found the company's accounting too "aggressive" and because its disclosures were wanting. TheStreet has also reported that Atkins left over clashes with his boss, John Stumpf, although the reasons weren't clear. Wells has said repeatedly that his departure was due to "personal" reasons, but won't disclose further information.
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