Wells Fargo pulls sell recommendations on two regional lenders

• Wells Fargo throws in the towel on its Underperform rating for First Horizon (NYSE:FHN), citing reduced risk from litigation and better-than-expected discipline on expenses. The new rating is Market Perform and the price target range is boosted to $15-$16 from $11-$12.
• The stock is up 16% YTD, outpacing the regional bank index by about 600 basis points. It's higher by 32% Y/Y, more than 2K basis points better than the regional gauge.
• M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) is also upgraded to Market Perform. That stock has underperformed, up just 1% YTD versus the regional index's 10% gain.