Wells Fargo shares fall the most in a month on Friday, holding to pay $575 000 and rehire whistle blower

According to a statement by the US Department of Labor, on July 21st Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) was ordered to pay $575 000 and to reinstate an employee who had been dismissed in September 2011, after raising suspicions that bank accounts have been opened without customer authorization. The name of the whistle blower remained undisclosed.

Wells Fargo shares closed lower for a second consecutive trading session on Friday. It has also been the steepest daily loss since June 20th. The stock went down 1.29% ($0.71) to $54.17, after touching an intraday low at $54.10, or a price level not seen since June 28th ($53.52). In the week ended on July 23rd the shares of the bank holding company lost 1.49% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a second consecutive period of decline and also the worst performance since the week ended on June 25th. The stock has extended its loss to 2.24% so far during the current month, following an 8.35% surge in June. The latter has been the first gain in the past four months and also the sharpest one since last November. For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed holding company gained 1.38%.

There has already been an array of reports in the media as well as lawsuits, pointing to counter measures taken by the holding against whistle blowers.

However, on April 10th Wells Fargos board of directors released an investigative report, which stated that “based on a limited review completed to date,” outside law firm Shearman & Sterling had “not identified a pattern of retaliation” against employees in the holdings branch banking unit, who complained about high-pressure sales practices.

“We take seriously the concerns of current and former team members”, Richele Messick, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo, noted in an emailed statement, cited by Reuters. “This decision is a preliminary order and to date there has been no hearing on the merits of this case. We disagree with the findings and will be requesting a full hearing of the matter”, she added, referring to the US Labor Departments order.

According to CNN Money, the 26 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Wells Fargo’s stock price, have a median target of $60.00, with a high estimate of $67.00 and a low estimate of $50.00. The median estimate is a 10.76% surge compared to the closing price of $54.17 on July 21st.

The same media also reported that 13 out of 30 surveyed investment analysts had rated Wells Fargo’s stock as “Hold”, while 12 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 3 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 – $54.22
R2 – $54.27
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $54.31
R4 (Long Breakout) – $54.46
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $54.62
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $54.69

S1 – $54.12
S2 – $54.07
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $54.03
S4 (Short Breakout) – $53.88
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $53.72
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $53.65

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

Central Pivot Point – $54.53
R1 – $54.95
R2 – $55.74
R3 – $56.16
R4 – $56.59

S1 – $53.74
S2 – $53.32
S3 – $52.53
S4 – $51.75