East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) Downgraded to Equal Weight Rating by Morgan Stanley

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) was downgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $90.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $118.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 24.89% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on EWBC. Compass Point upped their price target on East West Bancorp from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens downgraded East West Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of East West Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of East West Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, East West Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.15.

East West Bancorp Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of East West Bancorp stock traded down $1.98 during trading on Monday, reaching $72.06. 511,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,831. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $93.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. East West Bancorp has a twelve month low of $66.56 and a twelve month high of $113.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other East West Bancorp news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 20,181 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,816,491.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,941,851.33. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack C. Liu sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $133,275.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,643.21. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,181 shares of company stock worth $5,625,732. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $250,000. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 61.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 2,518 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $339,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $900,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of East West Bancorp by 822.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About East West Bancorp

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.