Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $86.64, but opened at $83.02. Wells Fargo & Company shares last traded at $80.37, with a volume of 7,129,778 shares traded.

More Wells Fargo & Company News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EPS, loan growth and trading helped underpin earnings — Wells reported solid loan growth, trading gains and an adjusted EPS that showed year‑over‑year improvement, which supports the bank’s recovery narrative. Wells Fargo & Co (WFC) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Management is investing in digital capabilities (AI) to drive customer engagement and efficiency, a long‑term positive for cost structure and revenue mix. Wells Fargo Scales AI to Meet Surging Customer Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Company reaffirmed its full‑year NII and expense guidance despite the quarter’s misses, signalling management expects the headwinds to be temporary. Wells Fargo sees little change in guidance despite spike in oil prices
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/market backdrop remains mixed — broader Q1 earnings are generally beating estimates, which helps banks overall, but geopolitical and rate uncertainty add variability to results. Q1 Earnings Season Starts off Strong
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and net interest income missed Street expectations, and fee income fell short — investors are focused on margin compression and whether growth can offset lower yields. Wells Fargo Shares Drop 4.8% As Q1 Revenue Misses Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analysts trimmed price targets and expressed concern about the ROTCE/profitability recovery, amplifying downside pressure after the print. Wells Fargo Gets Three Price Target Cuts in One Day Keefe Bruyette & Woods lowers WFC target
• Negative Sentiment: Wells disclosed ~$36.2B of exposure to private‑credit firms, drawing scrutiny on credit risk in a more volatile environment. Wells Fargo Reports $36.2 Billion of Private-Credit Exposure
• Negative Sentiment: CEO comments about continued headcount reductions/layoffs underscore ongoing restructuring — could improve efficiency longer term but signal near‑term execution and investor uncertainty. Wells Fargo CEO talks layoffs amid growth

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WFC. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.75.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.7%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.70 and a 200-day moving average of $86.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $21.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 27.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 472.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.