First Citizens BancShares , the institution that bought a large chunk of failed Silicon Valley Bank, is set to benefit from these assets tied to financial innovation, according to JPMorgan. The Wall Street firm initiated coverage of First Citizens BancShares at overweight with a $1,850 price target for December 2024. The forecast represents a nearly 37% rally from Tuesday's close of $1,352.88. The stock, now a JPMorgan top pick, has already more than doubled from its March low. FCNCA YTD mountain First Citizens BancShares In March at the height of the banking crisis, First Citizens purchased approximately $72 billion of SVB assets at a discount of $16.5 billion. JPMorgan said the underlying business at SVB was "among the most valuable in the U.S. with SVB being the bank of the innovation economy." "We are optimistic that, although challenges remain, the best days for the SVB franchise might be ahead, and the opportunity for First Citizens shareholders appears to be more powerful with SVB now under the strong leadership of First Citizens," JPMorgan analyst Steven Alexopoulos said in a note. Founded in 1898, First Citizens has been led by the Holding family for more than 100 years, and it has grown to a top 20 bank with $210 billion assets, JPMorgan said. The analyst noted that First Citizens is trading at a 16% discount to its peers despite the strong rally this year. "While the key to SVB's long-term success will eventually be the culture of the former company being resurrected, we find many similarities between the legacy SVB culture and the First Citizens culture," Alexopoulos wrote. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
