Initiation

Hovde Group analyst Joseph Fenech is now covering Everett, Wash.-based Coastal Financial Corp.'s stock. He gave it an "outperform" rating and set the price target of $20.

The analyst established Coastal Financial's EPS estimates at 90 cents for 2018, 99 cents for 2019 and $1.16 for 2020.

Fenech wrote that Coastal Financial's shares are up 11% since its IPO, but its "valuation still strikes us as very attractive." He further wrote that Coastal Financial may enter the M&A arena as a potential buyer in the next couple years, which would boost its current asset-growth trajectory.