What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after investors reacted to escalating trade tensions between the US and China following President Trump's announcement of a potential 'massive increase' in tariffs on Chinese imports.
Earlier in the week, China announced new export controls on the critical minerals. Beijing's Commerce Ministry stated that foreign suppliers now need government approval to export products containing certain rare-earth materials. These materials are essential for producing high-tech goods, including computer chips, electric vehicles, and defense technology. Analysts viewed the move as a strategic assertion of China's dominance in the global rare earth supply chain, particularly amid ongoing trade tensions and ahead of an anticipated meeting between the US and Chinese presidents.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Regional Banks company First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) fell 2.7%. Is now the time to buy First Citizens BancShares? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Regional Banks company Veritex Holdings (NASDAQ:VBTX) fell 2.8%. Is now the time to buy Veritex Holdings? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Zooming In On Veritex Holdings (VBTX)
Veritex Holdings’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 7 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock gained 19.4% on the news that it was announced that the company will be acquired by Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) in a $1.9 billion all-stock transaction.
The deal saw Huntington exchange 1.95 of its shares for each share of Veritex. Based on Huntington's closing price on July 11, 2025, this implied a value of $33.91 per Veritex share, representing a significant premium for shareholders and explaining the stock's sharp upward move. The acquisition was a strategic move for Huntington to accelerate its growth in key Texas markets, including Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston, where Veritex had a strong presence with over 30 branches. The deal added approximately $13 billion in assets, $9 billion in loans, and $11 billion in deposits to Huntington's portfolio. The transaction was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approvals.
Veritex Holdings is up 15.4% since the beginning of the year, but at $30.46 per share, it is still trading 12.4% below its 52-week high of $34.78 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Veritex Holdings’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,489.
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