In the wake of the Goldman Sachs (GS) bombshell, there have been a number of stock upgrades and stock downgrades to financial companies in the last week. GS stock was beaten down recently on news of a civil fraud investigation of Goldman by the SEC, and has sent shockwaves through the financial sector. Stock upgrades include Bank of America (BAC), Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), TD Ameritrade (AMTD) and New York Community Bancorp (NYB). Stock downgrades include Wells Fargo (WFC), UBS (UBS) and Credit Suisse (CS). Goldman Sachs itself also saw a stock downgrade.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the biggest financial stocks and bank stocks (by market capitalization) that were upgraded or downgraded last week. All of these stock upgrades and downgrades are current as of April 26, 2010:
Financial Stock Upgrades – Bank of America, Brookfield Asset, TD Ameritrade
Financial stocks upgraded this week include Bank of America (BAC), Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), TD Ameritrade (AMTD), New York Community Bancorp (NYB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), and AllianceBernstein Holding (AB).
Bank of America (BAC), a diversified financial services firm and one of the largest banks in the world, was upgraded to a C grade or a “hold” in Louis Navellier’s database of stocks to buy and sell. The database is updated weekly, and these new stock upgrades and stock downgrades are current as of April 26. Last week the company was rated a D overall, or “sell.” BAC stock has been firming up lately and is up over 20% year to date. Directors Frank Bramble and Charles Holliday are the leading contenders to become Bank of America’s new chairman when BAC stock announces its new leader, probably sometime this week.
Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), was also upgraded to a C grade or a “hold” in Portfolio Grader from a D grade or “sell” last week. BAM stock has also outperformed the market year-to-date, with a surge of about 18% since January 1. That’s about twice the broader market. Brookfield Asset Management has been upgraded as a result. Looking forward to BAM earnings on May 6, Wall Street expects Brookfield Asset Management to report earnings of 17 cents a share on the quarter and full-year earnings of 67 cents. Last year, BAM earnings were 15 cents on sales of $2.7 billion, and last quarter Brookfield earnings were 15 cents a share, , topping estimates of 11 cents.
TD Ameritrade (AMTD) was also upgraded this week in Portfolio Grader to “hold” from a “sell” last week. Zions Bancorp (ZION) saw a similar stock upgrade from “sell” to “hold.” New York Community Bancorp (NYB) was upgraded to a B grade or “Buy” from “Hold,” and AllianceBernstein Holding (AB) saw the same stock upgrade.
Top 7 Bank Upgrades – ARE, AB, BAC, BAM, NYB, AMTD, ZION
Here are the complete list of financial stock upgrades this week. Remember that Portfolio Grader uses a simple letter-based system for stock upgrades and downgrades, where A is “strong buy” and F is “strong sell.”
| Symbol | Company Name | Financial Sector | Market Cap (B) | Grade This Week | Grade Last Week |
| ARE | Alexandria Real Estate Equities | Real Estate Investment Trusts | $3.3 | C – Hold | D – Sell |
| AB | AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. | Capital Markets | $3.4 | B – Buy | C – Hold |
| BAC | Bank of America Corp. | Diversified Financial Services | $184.9 | C – Hold | D – Sell |
| BAM | Brookfield Asset Management | Real Estate Management & Dev. | $14.9 | C – Hold | D – Sell |
| NYB | New York Community Bancorp | Thrifts & Mortgage Finance | $7.2 | B – Buy | C – Hold |
| AMTD | TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. | Capital Markets | $12.0 | C – Hold | D – Sell |
| ZION | Zions Bancorp | Commercial Banks | $4.8 | C – Hold | D – Sell |
Financial Stock Downgrades – Wells Fargo, UBS, Goldman Sachs
Financial stocks downgraded this week include Credit Suisse (CS), Goldman Sachs (GS), UBS (UBS), and Wells Fargo (WFC).
Credit Suisse (CS) was downgraded from a C grade or “hold” to a D grade or “sell” in Louis Navellier’s database of stocks to buy and sell. On April 22, Credit Suisse reported earnings that were fairly impressive, including rising profits on a wealthier banking clientele. however, revenue failed to keep pace with top U.S. rivals so the stock was downgraded in Navellier’s latest report on April 26.
Goldman Sachs (GS) was also downgraded from a C grade or “hold” to a D grade or “sell” in Portfolio Grader. GS stock troubles have been widely publicized lately, and the stock continues to slip.
Wells Fargo (WFC) was also downgraded from a C grade or “hold” to a D grade or “sell” in Portfolio Grader on April 26, and UBS (UBS) was downgraded from a D grade or “sell” last week to the worst grade — an F, or “strong sell.”
Top 10 Bank Downgrades – AMP, CS, GS, HCBK, MTU, NTRS, TROW, UBS, WFC, WBK
Here are the complete list of financial stock downgrades this week. Remember that Portfolio Grader uses a simple letter-based system for stock upgrades and downgrades, where A is “strong buy” and F is “strong sell.”
| Symbol | Company Name | Financial Sector | Market Cap (B) | Grade This Week | Grade Last Week |
| AMP | Ameriprise Financial Inc. | Capital Markets | $12.5 | C – Hold | B – Buy |
| CS | Credit Suisse Group | Capital Markets | $56.2 | D – Sell | C – Hold |
| GS | Goldman Sachs Group Inc. | Capital Markets | $81.1 | D – Sell | C – Hold |
| HCBK | Hudson City Bancorp Inc. | Thrifts & Mortgage Finance | $7.2 | D – Sell | C – Hold |
| MTU | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group | Commercial Banks | $76.3 | F – Strong Sell | D – Sell |
| NTRS | Northern Trust Corp. | Capital Markets | $13.6 | F – Strong Sell | D – Sell |
| TROW | T. Rowe Price Group Inc. | Capital Markets | $15.2 | D – Sell | C – Hold |
| UBS | UBS AG | Capital Markets | $56.7 | F – Strong Sell | D – Sell |
| WFC | Wells Fargo & Co. | Commercial Banks | $174.3 | D – Sell | C – Hold |
| WBK | Westpac Banking Corp. | Commercial Banks | $74.9 | C – Hold | B – Buy |
About Portfolio Grader: Every Sunday, renowned growth stock adviser Louis Navellier runs a fundamental analysis on the top 5,000 Wall Street companies. Armed with this research, Navellier offers a rating for each company reflected as a simple letter grade, with A being “strong buy” and F being “strong sell.” Portfolio Grader’s stock data is free and open to the public, and can be accessed online here.
More Portfolio Grader stock analysis:
- 4/19 small cap stock upgrades: ALTR, HCBK, GOLD, WAT, PRE, MXIM (click for complete list of stocks to buy)
- 4/19 large cap stock upgrades: BA, BP, CS (click for complete list of stocks to buy)
- 4/19 large cap stock downgrades: GOOG, LMT, SNE (click for complete list of stocks to sell)
- 4/12 large cap stock upgrades: COST, LLY, RDS, WMT (click for complete list of stocks to buy)
- 4/12 large cap stock downgrades: BAC, BA, PC, TM (click for complete list of stocks to sell)
Designed to give stock analysis on nearly 5,000 stocks in easy-to-interpret A to F letter grades, Portfolio Grader is a great way to rank your current or future investments, and it’s completely FREE! Put the power of Portfolio Grader to work for you now! — get FREE access here!
