Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Standard Chartered PLC (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $19.8375, but opened at $21.57. Standard Chartered shares last traded at $21.47, with a volume of 2,038 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SCBFF. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Standard Chartered from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Standard Chartered from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Standard Chartered in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Standard Chartered in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Standard Chartered has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Standard Chartered Stock Up 1.0%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.51.

Standard Chartered (OTCMKTS:SCBFF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. Standard Chartered had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 10.77%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Standard Chartered PLC will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

About Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered plc is a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London. The firm traces its modern form to the 1969 merger of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China (founded in 1853) and Standard Bank of British South Africa (founded in 1862), creating an international bank with deep historical roots in trade finance and cross-border banking. Standard Chartered maintains a global footprint and a long-standing focus on facilitating trade and capital flows between developed and emerging markets.

Standard Chartered provides a broad range of banking and financial services for corporate, institutional and individual clients.