Canaccord downgrades Silvergate after filing delay contains $4.3B surprise

Canaccord analyst Joseph Vafi downgraded Silvergate Capital to Hold from Buy with a price target of $9, down from $25. The company last night said its annual filing will be late and disclosed subsequent events that look to have transpired in late January and the month of February, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Silvergate fully paid down short-term borrowings it had with the Federal Home Loan Bank of $4.3B, the firm points out. It says paying down these short-term but still material borrowings so rapidly is a surprise. "We are not sure as to why it occurred either," writes the analyst, who says the move will reduce bank liquidity materially. Canaccord wants to wait "until the dust clears here" before recommending the shares.