There’s been plenty of attention focused on bank stocks of late. However, one less-considered but still vital field has been bank exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Those aren’t faring well either; in fact, several of them were down significantly in Thursday’s trading.
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Bank ETFs, including iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (NYSEARCA:IAT), the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (NYSEARCA:KRE), the leveraged Direxion Daily Regional Banks Bull 3X Shares (NYSEARCA:DPST), and the Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF (NASDAQ:KBWR) were all down in Thursday’s trading. Some were, admittedly, more down than others, with the Invesco ETF getting off the lightest with a 3.07% drop, while the Direxion ETF fell the most at over 14.6%.
The biggest reason is the ongoing losses in bank stocks which make up bank ETFs. Western Alliance Bancorp (NYSE:WAL), for example, at one point lost over 60% in Thursday’s trading. It recovered to a certain extent, but it’s still down over 30% right now. And, of course, it’s impossible to forget what really started this whole terrible ball rolling in the first place: the events at Silicon Valley Bank, which brought every regional bank just a little more into question.
The iShares ETF lost 5.3% today, but it offers 48.42% upside potential thanks to its average price target of $44.05. Meanwhile, the Invesco ETF lost only 3.07% today but offers just 36.63% upside potential thanks to its $53.94 average share price. The Invesco fund is only considered a Hold by analysts, however, but the iShares is considered a Moderate Buy.
