NEW YORK, March 20, 2026, 11:19 EDT
On Friday morning, SoFi Technologies hovered at $17.05, off 0.2% by 11:04 a.m. EDT, with investors digesting a new neutral rating from Wells Fargo and continued ripples from this week’s clash with short seller Muddy Waters. The stock closed at $17.08 on Thursday, $17.18 Wednesday, and $17.37 Tuesday.
SoFi sits at the center of a key question for investors: how much are they willing to shell out for a fintech operator stretching across lending, banking, and software? The stock got squeezed this week, hit on its accounting by Muddy Waters and on valuation and loan-sale risk by Wells Fargo—both taking aim at how solid the company’s earnings narrative really is.
Muddy Waters, the short seller, alleged Tuesday that SoFi was sitting on at least $312 million in unrecorded debt—a potential material misstatement. The news, first reported by Reuters, knocked SoFi shares down by as much as 6.5% during the session before the company issued a rebuttal.
SoFi fired back just hours later, calling the report evidence of a “fundamental lack of understanding” about its business and accounts. The company said it’s considering legal action. According to SoFi, its filings comply with U.S. GAAP—the main U.S. accounting standard—and are overseen by the SEC, the Federal Reserve, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. SoFi
After that, Chief Executive Anthony Noto picked up 28,900 shares on the open market, according to a Form 4 disclosure. The purchase, made March 17 at a weighted average of $17.3189, pushed his direct ownership up to 11,704,352 shares.
Wells Fargo dialed in a different sort of warning on Thursday, initiating SoFi at Equal Weight with a $19 price target. Analyst Donald Fandetti described SoFi as a “digital leader sitting at the nexus” of tech and finance, but pointed to valuation concerns and loan-sale risk as reasons for staying neutral. Loan-sale risk comes from SoFi’s need to sell off some new loans to outside buyers rather than retaining everything on its own books. TipRanks
Recent results have been tough to ignore: SoFi reported a record $1.0 billion in net revenue for the fourth quarter. GAAP net income? $173.5 million. Diluted earnings per share climbed to $0.13. Membership now stands at 13.7 million, according to the company. And after SoFi’s Invest unit took the top spot in J.D. Power’s DIY investor satisfaction rankings, CEO Noto this week cited the company’s focus on building tools that help members “get their money right.” SoFi
Action in the sector split on Friday: Affirm climbed roughly 1.4%, LendingClub edged ahead by 0.3%. SoFi, by contrast, has slipped from the $29.28 mark seen Jan. 5. Taken together, these moves point to a pressure on SoFi that’s not simply another across-the-board fintech pullback.
Right now, neither camp seems to have sealed the deal. Should those buying SoFi-originated loans get cold feet, or if investors start insisting on more clarity about the Muddy Waters accounting accusations, shares could remain weighed down. But if management steps up with solid answers and delivers on revenue and member growth, Noto’s share buy might move beyond a token gesture.
