Discover the 3 down-trending stocks expecting further declines

First Republic Bank, PacWest Bancorp, Western Alliance Bancorporation and others have been dropping. Here is what you should know.

Leading equity indices in the US declined as Dow Jones closed at 31,862, a 1.19% change. After dropping 1.1%, S&P 500 closed at 3,916.64.

What is a downtrend?

The perceived tendency of a price to move in a downward direction over time. A downtrend describes the price movement of a continously depreciative financial asset over a particular time frame. In a downtrend, each successive low and peak is lower than the ones found earlier in the trend. The downtrend is therefore composed of lower swing lows and lower swing highs.

| First Republic Bank | 81.31% ($88.95) depreciation over 7 days ($12.71 per day average)

After setting a $22.3 – $30 range, First Republic Bank closed the day 32.8% lower at $23.03. During Friday's session, First Republic Bank toiled and struggled for upward momentum before closing at $23.03. By the close, the the regional full-service bank suffered a $11.24 or 32.8% loss. Daily trading volume (139.67 million shares) increased, making up 1,300% of the 21-day average (10.72 million). First Republic Bank disclosed a quarterly dividend of 27 cents per share on Friday, January 13th that was paid on Thursday, February 9th to all shareholders of record up until Thursday, January 26th. Based on current prices, the company's decision thereby provides First Republic Bank investors with an annual dividend yield of 4.69%.

| PacWest Bancorp | 67.22% ($16.86) depreciation over 12 days ($1.41 per day average)

After setting a $9.05 – $10.67 range, PacWest Bancorp closed the day 18.95% lower at $9.28. During Friday's session, PacWest Bancorp toiled and struggled for upward momentum before closing at $9.28. By the close, the the multi-billion-dollar banking firm suffered a $2.17 or 18.95% loss. Daily trading volume (38.61 million shares) increased, making up 559% of the 21-day average (6.90 million). PacWest Bancorp distributed a dividend of 25 cents per share on Tuesday, February 28th for all shareholders on record up until Wednesday, February 15th. Based on current prices, the decision means shareholders are receiving an annualised dividend yield of 10.78%.

During Friday's session, Western Alliance Bancorporation toiled and struggled for upward momentum before closing at $31.32. By the close, the the retail and commercial bank suffered a $5.59 or 15.14% loss. After setting a $30 – $35.38 range, Western Alliance Bancorporation closed the day 15.14% lower at $31.32. Daily trading volume (23.92 million shares) was above the current multiday average of 4.82 million.

Currently, the US bank has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion with an average daily trading volume of 4.82 million shares. Western Alliance Bancorporation hit a significant low of $26.12 around 6 days ago, but has since recovered 41.31%. So far this year, it has been under-performing the Nasdaq by 53.59%. Trending downwards for around a month. Western Alliance Bancorporation expected revenue of $724.29 million with an EPS of $2.67.