Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. plunged $13 Thursday, after wire services reported that Warren E. Buffett had sold all his shares-a report that the bank denied.
Reuters, Dow Jones, and Bloomberg noted a filing by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. indicating that Mr. Buffett's investment vehicle, which at last report was Wells' largest shareholder with a 7.82% stake, owned no stock in the bank as of June 30.
Wells stock fell $15 in an hour as the reports came out. Trading was halted at 2:36 p.m. Twenty-eight minutes later, Wells issued a statement saying Berkshire Hathaway remains a "substantial" holder of the bank's stock.
To some analysts, the trading activity underscored how uncertain investors have become about a once-revered bank that has experienced difficulties meeting its targets for its hard-won acquisition of First Interstate Bancorp.
"It's a whole new ball game. The conditions that made Buffett buy the stock aren't relevant anymore," said Michael Abrahams, analyst at Sutro & Co., San Francisco, who has a "sell" rating on the bank. "The merger has been executed extremely poorly, and Wells has infuriated a lot of customers. Their low-level of personal service combined with high tech doesn't appeal to people."
The bank did not say how much stock Berkshire owns. "Wells Fargo understands that Berkshire Hathaway requests confidential treatment for its Wells Fargo holdings," the bank said.
Berkshire Hathaway declined to comment.
Wells won a hostile takeover battle to buy First Interstate for $12.3 billion in 1996.
On July 9, Wells stock dropped $19, to $260 from $279, after the bank warned analysts its earnings for the second-quarter earnings would fall shy of estimates.
In May, Wells' stock fell 5% when it was announced that Mr. Buffett had cut his stake in the bank by 300,000 shares.
