Bank Of America's Stock Falls After Analyst Abandons Bullish Rating

Shares of Bank of America Corp. shed 0.8% in morning trade, to pull back from the highest close of the year in the previous session, after Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O'Connor indicated he was no longer bullish given the lack of upside potential. O'Connor cut his rating to hold from buy. He kepts his stock price target at $18, which was less than 7% above current levels. For Deutsche Bank, a bullish buy rating means the expected total return for the stock is 10% or more over a 12-month period. "Upside to the stock seems increasingly dependent on a pickup in economic activity, higher interest rates, and stronger capital market revenues as more company specific positives...seemed priced in," O'Connor wrote in a note to clients. He also downgraded Citizens Financial Group Inc. to hold from buy. Bank of America's stock had closed Monday up 2.8% at the highest level since Dec. 30. Year to date, it has ticked up 0.3%, while the SPDR Financial ETF has gained 2.7% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 4.1%.