The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, July 12, edition that Jefferies has elevated its recommendation for JPMorgan to a "buy" rating as part of its preview of second quarter U.S. bank earnings, which begin to roll out later this week. The Globe's Darcy Keith writes in the Eye On Equities column that Jefferies raised its share target to $165 (U.S.) from $149 (U.S.). The average analyst target is $162.75 (U.S.). Jefferies analyst Ken Usdin says: "We believe that the company's balance sheet strength, strong liquidity position and best-in-class earnings generation potential continue to position the bank for absolute and relative performance. Even with rising credit losses, higher capital levels and lower interest rates built into our 2024 EPS model, we believe JPM can still deliver an upper-teens return on average tangible common shareholders' equity, which will likely be the best among peers. ... we believe JPM can still deliver an upper-teens ROTCE [return on average tangible common shareholders' equity] which will likely be the best among peers. We note that our '23/'24 EPS is well ahead of the Street."