Columbia Financial gains after Piper Sandler upgrade to 'overweight'

Shares of Columbia Financial (CLBK.O) rise 1.9% to $11 in early trading after Piper Sandler upgrades CLBK to "overweight" from "neutral".

Piper Sandler says that following the company's second-step conversion, equity offering and the close of the NFBK deal, CLBK is well positioned to deploy capital into profitable balance-sheet growth, improve profitability and manage excess capital.

Last month, the company reported higher Q2 profit, helped by higher net interest income.

Including the session's move, the stock is up 55.8% year to date.