East West Bancorp (EWBC) Upgraded, Shares Surge 8%

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Julianna Balicka upgraded her rating of East West Bancorp Inc

to Outperform, with a price target of $21 per share. The main reason that Balicka upgraded East West Bancorp (

) was because of the bank's purchase of Washington First International Bank, which she said showed that the bank is a regional power that is ready to move beyond California and New York. The Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst wrote, "In an FDIC-assisted transaction, EWBC acquired the $504 million-in assets Washington First International Bank. This transaction provides us a fundamentals-based catalyst for upgrading the stock and demonstrates EWBC’s ability to grow despite a lackluster organic loan growth environment by targeting important Asian-American markets outside of L.A. The deal also confirms EWBC’s balance sheet strength and confirms the bank as a regional winner. Upgrading EWBC to Outperform, raising estimates and PT." Shares of East West Bancorp (

) were up more than 8% at $16.88 during the morning trading session. See Some of the Top Moving Indexes