Velocity Financial price target raised to $19 from $17.50 at JMP Securities

JMP Securities raised the firm’s price target on Velocity Financial to $19 from $17.50 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares ahead of the Q1 earnings report. Velocity has continued to originate and securitize business purpose mortgage loans at a steady pace despite the slowdown in broader commercial real estate lending, which can be attributed to the less rate sensitive small balance segment of the market that Velocity focuses on and to the reputation the company has built for its securitizations, the analyst tells investors in a research note.