Jefferies Downgrades Alinma Bank Rating, Price Target Amid 'Relatively Limited' Potential Upside

05:09 AM EDT, 08/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Jefferies downgraded Alinma Bank (SASE:1150) to hold from buy, flagging "relatively limited" upside potential for the research firm's price target compared with the lender's peers. "Our new [12-month price target] SAR27.2 (-6% vs. SAR29 prev.) offers around 10% potential upside, leading us to lower our recommendation. We will closely watch loan growth, where Alinma [management] sounds more optimistic than its peers, and [net interest margin/cost of risk] evolution for further upside/downside risks," according to a Tuesday note on banks in the Middle East and North Africa. "Alinma stock is one of the key beneficiaries of passive inflows from the widely discussed foreign ownership limit (FOL) changes, which would be a short-term re-rating catalyst for the shares, although timing of the event remains unconfirmed," analysts added. Following an "unsupportive" second quarter, the research firm lowered its full-year 2026 to 2028 EPS forecasts by 2%. Jefferies cautioned that investor sentiment "could be vulnerable to perception" if concerns grow over the bank's asset quality indicators.