Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL), based in Arizona, produced excellent earnings and deposits for Q1. Despite the fall of First Republic Bank today, this bank stock has been popular with value investors. WAL stock is actually trading higher on that news, given that the regional bank is not in a similar situation.
In fact, as we pointed out in an earlier article on March 27 ("Western Alliance Bancorp Option Premiums Are Still High, Attracting Income Investors"), WAL is attractive to investors who have shorted out-of-the-money (OTM) puts. They were taking advantage of the fears about the company.
