What's Going On With Wells Fargo Shares?

Wells Fargo & Co WFC shares are trading lower on Friday, caught in a wider market downturn spurred by a surprisingly weak August jobs report that has stoked fears of an economic slowdown. The major indices retreated from recent record highs as investors digested the unsettling labor market data.

Get the latest updates on WFC stock here.

What To Know: The U.S. economy added a mere 22,000 jobs last month, falling drastically short of expectations and marking the worst performance since 2020. The news sent Treasury yields tumbling as investors increased bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts to support the economy. The two-year Treasury yield fell sharply to 3.47%, reflecting market anticipation of lower borrowing costs.

For financial institutions such as Wells Fargo, this environment is particularly challenging. Expectations of an economic slowdown can signal lower loan demand and higher credit risks. Furthermore, falling interest rates typically squeeze bank profitability by compressing their net interest margins.

Benzinga Edge Rankings: Despite the day’s pullback, Benzinga Edge data highlights the stock’s strong recent performance, assigning it a Momentum score of 77.42.

WFC Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Wells Fargo shares closed Friday’s session lower by 3.50% to $78.96. The stock has a 52-week high of $84.83 and a 52-week low of $50.22.

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How To Buy WFC Stock

By now, you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Wells Fargo — be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

In the case of Wells Fargo, which is trading at $79.22 when the article was written, $100 would buy you 1.26 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading — either way, it allows you to profit from the share price decline.

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