Wells Fargo shares fall the most in five weeks on Thursday, bank’s wholesale banking unit being probed by the US Justice Department

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, Wells Fargo & Companys (WFC) wholesale banking unit is being investigated by the US Justice Department in relation with possible fraudulent actions by employees, after claims emerged that Wells Fargo employees improperly made changes to client data.

Wells Fargo shares closed lower for the fourth time in the past seven trading sessions in New York on Thursday. It has also been the steepest daily loss since July 31st. The stock went down 1.73% ($1.02) to $57.93, with the latter also being a price level not seen since August 15th ($57.65).

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company have retreated 4.52% so far in 2018 compared with a 7.65% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Wells Fargo’s stock surged 10.09%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

The US Department of Justice is probing whether a pattern of unethical and potentially fraudulent behavior by Wells Fargo employees exists and whether it results from management pressure.

According to the WSJ, the alleged incident occurred last year and in early 2018. The Wall Street bank was trying to comply with a regulatory consent order associated with its Anti Money Laundering controls.

The WSJ also reported that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had been informed about the issue and a probe had been initiated.

According to CNN Money, the 28 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Wells Fargo’s stock price, have a median target of $63.00 with a high estimate of $70.00 and a low estimate of $50.00. The median estimate represents an 8.75% upside compared to the closing price of $57.93 on September 6th.

The same media also reported that 14 out of 32 surveyed investment analysts had rated Wells Fargo’s stock as “Buy”, while 11 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 4 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Wells Fargo stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $58.04
R2 – $58.16
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $58.27
R4 (Long Breakout) – $58.61
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $59.00
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $59.16

S1 – $57.82
S2 – $57.70
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $57.59
S4 (Short Breakout) – $57.25
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $56.86
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $56.70

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $58.68
R1 – $59.28
R2 – $60.09
R3 – $60.69
R4 – $61.30

S1 – $57.87
S2 – $57.27
S3 – $56.46
S4 – $55.66