Benzinga - As rumors of a potential First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) sale swirls around, CNBC Mad Money host weighed on the development through a series of tweets on Thursday.
What Happened: Cramer, who once touted First Republic as a “good bank,” questioned whether it was a forced sale of First Republic, calling it the “Rich Person’s” bank.
The stock picker also called upon Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) to buy the regional bank. “I say it is time for GS to play offense, get out of the low end which it knew nothing about and snare First Republic,” he said.
You think it is the forced sales of Rich Person's bank, First Republic? I say it is time for GS to play offense, get out of the low end which it knew nothing about and snare First Republic. Best high end franchise that will come up this go round.“Best high end franchise that will come up this go around,” he added.— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) March 16, 2023
Cramer also attributed the premarket slump in First Republic shares to apprehensions about finding a quick buyer. “But only the stress test banks can pull this off and the no-bank-can-have- more-than 10% of deposits rule could kill it..,” he said.
“Government must speak with one voice and stop being anonymous.”
Make no mistake about it, this sell-off is about finding a quick buyer for $FRC. But only the stress test banks can pull this off and the no-bank-can-have- more-than 10% of deposits rule could kill it.. Government must speak with one voice and stop being anonymous— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) March 16, 2023
Why It’s Important: First Republic shares shed much of their value amid the banking crisis that emerged in the wake of the collapse of SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB)-owned Silicon Valley Bank. This is despite the company reassuring the investors by disclosing that it has tapped into additional liquidity from the Fed and JPMorgan & Chase Co. (NYSE: JPM).
A recent Bloomberg report raised the possibility of the company exploring options, including a potential sale. Following the unraveling of the crisis and its impact on its shares, First Republic's rating was reduced to junk status by both S&P Global and Moody’s.
In premarket trading on Thursday, the stock plunged 26.35% to $22.95, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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Latest Ratings for FRC
| Mar 2022 | Piper Sandler | Maintains | Neutral | |
| Feb 2022 | UBS | Maintains | Neutral | |
| Jan 2022 | Morgan Stanley | Maintains | Equal-Weight |
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
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