UPDATE: Jefferies Color on Western Alliance Initiation

Jefferies, which initiated coverage of Western Alliance WAL, is providing some color on the stock. “We like WAL as a risk/reward play on credit recovery and decent growth prospects as the company continues to gain share in a weaker and more rational competitive landscape post-cycle,” Jefferies writes. “Despite a challenged economic footprint, we believe WAL will continue to grow the franchise and reduce credit costs, which will allow shares to retrace recent underperformance.” Western Alliance closed Tuesday at $6.83.