What happened
Thursday was generally an awful day to be a fintech stock investor, unless you were an investor in SoFi Technologies (SOFI 3.10%). The company was insulated from negative sentiment in its industry following a scathing report from a short seller about a peer.
The insulation came from an analyst who reiterated his unequivocal buy recommendation on SoFi stock. Thanks to that little blast of bullishness, the company's shares closed the day nearly 4% higher.
So what
The bull was well-known Mizuho Securities prognosticator Dan Dolev, who published a fresh update on SoFi Thursday morning after a dinner meeting with top managers and investor relations executives. In the update, Dolev reiterated his buy recommendation on the stock and his $9 per share price target. That level implies a robust 56% upside to the market price.
At the meeting, Dolev said that SoFi's managers made "upbeat" pronouncements about various aspects of the fintech's business. These include its capability for real-time monitoring of deposit sources, the "stickiness" of the company's deposit base, and its declining competition, among other items.
Dolev also noted SoFi's ambition to become a top-10 bank, writing that "We share his vision."
Now what
This ambition is certainly admirable, although it has to be tempered with present reality. SoFi is still a relatively young company on the scene, and despite the appeal of many of its offerings and its innovative approach to the finance business, it remains habitually unprofitable. It's no threat to the monster banks currently standing on top of the U.S. economy -- at least, not yet.
