FOA - Finance of America stock soars after index inclusion Raymond James upgrade

Finance of America (FOA) stock surges 27% as it's set to join the Russell 3000 Index on June 28.Separately, Raymond James analyst Stephen Laws upgrades the stock to Strong Buy from Outperform.He sees recent pullback of shares as technically driven, having declined ~30% since June 4 when a shareholder lock-up expired. "We believe PIPE investors, which owned ~13% at April 1, are the likely sellers," Laws writes in a note to clients.Sees his investment thesis on FA remaining intact. "We expect growth in reverse origination, commercial origination, lender services, and portfolio management to more than offset declines from lower refinance volumes in the forward origination segment," he said.Maintains $13.50 price target.YTD, FOA's total return drops 30% vs. S&P's 14% increase as seen in chart below.In March, SA contributor Trent Welsh, leery of SPACs, called FOA the first one that he's found "intriguing enough" to "take a shot on."

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Finance of America stock soars after index inclusion, Raymond James upgrade