Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
Wells Fargo Securities is the Charlotte-based investment banking and capital markets arm of Wells Fargo & Company. Its equity research department covers about 1,000 predominantly U.S. stocks, roughly 85% of the S&P 500 by market capitalization, as of 2026.
Company history
Wells Fargo traces its origins to the express and banking company Henry Wells and William Fargo founded in 1852. The bank eliminated its equity research unit in 2005, then acquired Wachovia on December 31, 2008, inheriting its capital markets group and A.G. Edwards, the St. Louis brokerage and research house Wachovia had bought in 2007. The capital markets businesses were renamed Wells Fargo Securities in 2009 and now sit within the bank's Corporate & Investment Banking division.
- 1852Henry Wells and William Fargo found Wells Fargo & Co.
- 2005Wells Fargo eliminates its equity research unit
- 2008Acquires Wachovia, including Wachovia Capital Markets
- 2009Capital markets businesses renamed Wells Fargo Securities
Research
About 40 research teams cover consumer, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrials, REITs and TMT. In Extel's 2025 All-America Research Team survey the firm ranked in 28 sectors, with top-three finishes in seven; in Institutional Investor's 2023 survey it tied UBS for seventh overall. Ratings are Overweight (expected 12-month total return of 10% or more), Equal Weight (−10% to +10%) and Underweight (expected to lag Overweight- and Equal Weight-rated stocks in the analyst's coverage).
Coverage12M
- Stocks
- 1,096
- Ratings
- 4,001
- Price targets
- 2,268
- Median upside
- +11.3%
- Upgrades
- 165
- Downgrades
- 154
- Initiations
- 40
- Reiterations
- 3,642
- Targets raised
- 1,178
- Targets cut
- 776
- Positive55%571
- Neutral37%390
- Negative8%84
Sectors
Ratings
Listing
Activity24M
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 PGRThe Progressive Corporation | Underweight | $198 |
 GOOGLAlphabet Inc. | Overweight | $411 |
 AMZNAmazon.com, Inc. | Overweight | $338 |
 APPAppLovin Corporation | Overweight | $325 |
 OCOwens Corning | Overweight | $150 |
 NUENucor Corporation | Overweight | $280 |
 AJGArthur J. Gallagher & Co. | Overweight | $298 |
 AMATApplied Materials, Inc. | Overweight | $740 |
 BKNGBooking Holdings Inc. | Equal Weight | $220 |
 CLXThe Clorox Company | Equal Weight | $110 |
Analysts24M
- Joseph O'DeaAYI · HUBB · ETN57
- Ike BoruchowDECK · AS · RL44
- Elyse GreenspanPGR · EG · ALL44
- Timna TannersVMC · KNF · AMRZ38
- Ken GawrelskiGOOGL · DASH · ABNB37
- Michael TurrinGWRE · CRWV · FIG36
Recent actions
| Stock | Rating action | Rating | Target | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fair Isaac CorporationFICO | Reiterate | Overweight | $1,450 →$1,350 | Sep 22 |
 Equifax Inc.EFX | Reiterate | Overweight | $212 →$200 | Sep 22 |
| MLMartin Marietta Materials, Inc.MLM | Reiterate | Overweight | $609 →$585 | Sep 21 |
 NextNav Inc.NN | Reiterate | Buy | Sep 21 | |
 Meta Platforms, Inc.META | Reiterate | Overweight | $640 →$796 | Sep 21 |
| ETEtsy, Inc.ETSY | Downgrade | Underweight | Sep 18 | |
| BTGrayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETFBTC | Initiate | Hold | Sep 18 | |
| DTDynatrace, Inc.DT | Downgrade | Overweight →Underweight | Sep 18 |
Similar coverage12M
References
- Equity Research – Wells Fargo Corporate & Investment Bankingwellsfargo.com
- History of Wells Fargo – Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- Wells Fargo's expansion kindles passion for investment banking – Business Standardbusiness-standard.com
- Wells Fargo re-brands investment banking business – InvestmentNewsinvestmentnews.com
- The Results of II's 52nd All-America Research Team Are In – Institutional Investorinstitutionalinvestor.com
- Leadership and Governance – Wells Fargowellsfargo.com