UPDATE: Citigroup Upgrades SVB Financial Group to Buy on Valuation, Growth

Citigroup raised its rating on SVB Financial Group

from Neutral to Buy and raised its price target from $62 to $63. Citigroup noted, "In addition to valuation, we believe that investors should go long SIVB because (1) SIVB is one of the rare growth stories in banking, and investors typically pay up for growth (2) its loan growth has a low correlation with that of typical regional banks, suggesting SIVB's loan growth is less susceptible to concerns over the fiscal cliff (3) SIVB's robust loan growth should help to alleviate NIM pressure and (4) SIVB is highly asset sensitive, so when the “asset sensitivity hope trade” comes back into vogue as it does a few times each year, SIVB should handily outperform." SVB Financial Group closed at $54.15 on Monday.