Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Stock Price

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $127.00 to $118.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 34.14% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of East West Bancorp from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of East West Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $96.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of East West Bancorp from $100.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.31.

East West Bancorp Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $87.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.28. East West Bancorp has a 12-month low of $68.78 and a 12-month high of $113.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,816,491.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.50, for a total transaction of $75,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,654,444. This trade represents a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,362 shares of company stock worth $3,842,022 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of East West Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in East West Bancorp by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for East West Bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer and Business Banking, Commercial Banking, and Other.