** Shares of Amalgamated Financial AMAL.O, a lender popular among Democrats, fall 4.3% to $33.78 premarket
** Piper Sandler downgrades AMAL to "neutral" from "overweight"; cuts PT to $38 from $42, which is still a 7.7% upside to stock's last close
** Brokerage says it is somewhat concerned about the implications of the so-called green freeze on AMAL given its oversized exposure to climate-related loans
** Trump administration recently announced plans to freeze funding for environment and climate change initiatives, with attempts to even claw back previously issued grants
** Piper Sandler says that while there is no way of knowing how this will ultimately play out, it thinks AMAL shares should trade at a discount to reflect some uncertainty
** Brokerage also wonders if the Trump administration could prompt its newly appointed banking regulators to "more intensely scrutinize the institution that banks their competitors"
** One of two brokerages rate the stock "buy" and one "hold"; their median PT is $41.50, according to data compiled by LSEG
** AMAL stock up 5.4% YTD
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)
((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))
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