Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Stock

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $105.00 to $110.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.93% from the company’s current price.

WAL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Truist Financial set a $98.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.13.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of WAL traded down $0.69 on Wednesday, hitting $88.76. 1,178,802 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 897,468. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $57.05 and a 1 year high of $93.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $913.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $912.69 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 17.14%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, CFO Dale Gibbons acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.00 per share, for a total transaction of $308,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 300,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,127,566. This represents a 1.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Alliance Bancorporation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAL. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Western Alliance Bancorporation

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Alliance Bancorporation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — WAL reported $2.59 EPS (vs. $2.40 consensus) and revenue of $913.5M, up 17% YoY; profitability and ROE looked healthy, supporting earnings momentum. Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/raise — Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $101 and kept an “outperform” rating, signaling ~14% upside from current levels and providing upside narrative for investors. KBW Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary upgraded — Seeking Alpha published an upgrade highlighting “solid Q4” and building growth momentum, which can reinforce investor confidence in the earnings story. Seeking Alpha Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials & call transcript available — Management’s slide deck and the Q4 earnings call/transcript provide detailed guidance and loan/deposit commentary; these will determine whether the beat leads to sustained multiple expansion. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/discussion pieces running — Coverage (e.g., Yahoo Finance) is assessing whether current pricing reflects longer-term regional-bank resilience and returns; such narratives can influence longer-term flows but are neither clearly bullish nor bearish short-term. Yahoo Finance
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded WAL from “overweight” to “neutral” — despite a $105 price target, the rating cut is a negative signal to some investors and likely contributed to downward pressure on the stock today.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.