5 Investors Betting Big on First Republic (FRC) Stock

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  • The banking sector is still recovering from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
  • But institutional investment in First Republic Bank (FRC) is still strong.
  • Vanguard remains its top institutional holder with 20,563,135 FRC shares.
FRC stock - 5 Investors Betting Big on First Republic (FRC) Stock

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The dust is still settling from the event that shook the banking sector last week. When SVB Financial’s (NASDAQ:SIVB) principal subsidiary Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, it pulled many banking stocks down with it. The list of banks that saw shares halted as they plunged included First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC). While trading has since resumed, FRC stock is still struggling. As of this writing, it is down almost 64% for the day and has shed more than 75% of its value since last week. It’s far from the only banking stock still in the red as the sector looks to shake off the SVB collapse that shook the entire market last week. Signature Bank (NASDAQ:SBNY), also among the previous week’s halted stocks, has been shut down due to systemic risk. However, First Republic investors also had some good news yesterday when the bank announced new rounds of funding. Per a statement it released:

“The additional borrowing capacity from the Federal Reserve, continued access to funding through the Federal Home Loan Bank, and ability to access additional financing through JPMorgan Chase & Co. increases, diversifies, and further strengthens First Republic’s existing liquidity profile. The total available, unused liquidity to fund operations is now more than $70 billion.”

This should be good news for FRC stock. While it’s easy to see why shares are still in the red, investors can also take comfort in knowing that the company may be well-positioned for a turnaround when markets shift again. This includes the institutional investors who maintain large positions in FRC. Even as the market turmoil shows little signs of easing, some of the sector’s most prominent names are standing by it.

5 Investors Betting Big on FRC Stock

First Republic is still recovering from a mixed quarter on the insertional investment front. Data from WhaleWisdom indicates that although the number of funds holding FRC stock has fallen, the percentage of fund ownership has increased by more. Additionally, the number of 13F shares has gone up, and increased positions have risen by more than 4%. While closed FRC positions are up; reduced positions are down. The company boasts a Put/Call ratio of 1.56, down almost 28% from the previous quarter. This indicates that bearish sentiment toward FRC is decreasing.

With that in mind, let’s look at the top institutional holders still betting on FRC as of Dec.  30, 2022.  Interestingly, it includes four of the top five investors in SIVB stock.

  1. Vanguard Group: 20,563,135 shares. This mutual fund leader recently increased its FRC stock holdings by 380,024.
  2. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 13,159,705 shares. The multi-national investment firm added 506,971 FRC shares in Q4.
  3. Capital International Investors: 10,242,801 shares, This financial services company decreased its FRC position by 1,960,799 shares.
  4. State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT): This investment bank added 9,633,315 shares of FRC stock in Q4.
  5. Alecta Pensionsforsakring, Omsesidigt: This Swedish pension fund added 500,000 FRC shares to its holdings during Q4.

On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2023/03/5-investors-betting-big-on-first-republic-frc-stock/.

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