Sector Update: Financial Stocks Higher Late Afternoon

-- Financial stocks were advancing in late Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 1.3% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) adding 0.9%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index popped 3.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was up 1.6%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 2.8% to $77,288, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries dropped 6.3 basis points to 4.246%.

In sector news, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Barclays (BCS) are among the Wall Street banks that recently started trading credit default swaps against flagship private credit funds run by Blackstone (BX), Apollo Global Management (APO) and Ares Management (ARES), the Financial Times reported.

In corporate news, Ally Financial (ALLY) shares jumped past 8%. The company reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $1.11 per diluted share, up from $0.58 a year earlier, and above the FactSet consensus estimate of $0.93.

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) shares rose 1.7% after it reported a surprise Q1 profit on Friday.

Truist Financial (TFC) reported Q1 earnings of $1.09 per diluted share, up from $0.87 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1. Truist shares gained 2.4%.

Deutsche Bank (DB) has notified Germany's central bank, Bundesbank, that it may have violated sanctions that limit deposits of Russian individuals to less than 100,000 euros ($118,000), multiple media outlets reported Friday. Deutsche shares were up 2.7%.

Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Buy Rating On Shares Of Quest Diagnostics

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We keep our 12-month price target at $235. This is based on a forward P/E of 21.9x our 2026 EPS estimate, a premium to DGX's three-year forward average of 16.8x due to our view of strengthening sales and earnings growth, backed by higher health care utilization trends and some regulatory relief due to postponement of lab reimbursement cuts until at least 2027. We think lab testing providers remain a relatively well-positioned area within health care given lower policy risks, supportive testing demand, and attractive earnings growth potential. On a compounded annual basis from 2025-2028, we expect near 8% EPS growth, raising our 2026 EPS to $10.73 from $10.60 and 2027 EPS to $11.50 from $11.42. We also anticipate additional smaller M&A opportunities, along with healthy dividend increases (recent 7.5% boost; shares yield 1.7%) as cash flow generation remains supportive over the near term.

$DGX

Research Alert: Pega: Q1 Results Miss, But Strength In Pega Cloud Offsets

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:PEGA reported total revenue of $430M, missing consensus by $37.2M and declining 10% Y/Y, while non-GAAP EPS of $0.46 missed by $0.23 and fell 39% Y/Y. However, Pega Cloud revenue surged 36% Y/Y to $205M, now representing 47.7% of total revenue and validating the cloud transition thesis. Pega Cloud annual contract value (ACV) acceleration remains the standout metric, growing 29% Y/Y to $906.7M and accelerating from 23% growth in Q1, demonstrating continued strong demand for the company's AI workflow automation platform. Total ACV grew 12% Y/Y to $1.62B, with backlog increasing 16% Y/Y to $2.01B providing revenue visibility. We believe the robust cash flow generation of $206.5M in free cash flow and a solid balance sheet with $474M in cash provides financial flexibility for continued AI investment. Despite near-term profitability pressure, we expect the sustained Pega Cloud momentum and strong ACV growth to support the business transformation.

$PEGA

Sector Update: Financial Stocks Higher Late Afternoon

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Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Buy Rating On Shares Of Quest Diagnostics

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