Three Financial Stocks to Watch: Manulife Financial, Brookfield Corporation, and Cipher Mining

Analysts at Scotiabank and National Bank have initiated coverage on Manulife Financial and Brookfield Corporation with a Buy rating and price targets of $47 and $82, respectively. Cipher Mining has a Strong Buy consensus with a $7.50 price target, representing a 44.8% upside.

Analysts at Scotiabank and National Bank have initiated coverage on Manulife Financial and Brookfield Corporation with a Buy rating and price targets of $47 and $82, respectively. Cipher Mining has a Strong Buy consensus with a $7.50 price target, representing a 44.8% upside.

Scotiabank analyst Mike Rizvanovic has given Manulife Financial a Buy rating with a price target of $47.00, citing strong momentum in its higher-growth businesses, particularly its Asia segment and Global Wealth and Asset Management division [1]. The company's shares closed at $30.70 yesterday, with insider sentiment being negative, as 149 insiders sold their shares over the past quarter. Despite this, analysts from HB Wealth Management LLC increased their stake in Manulife Financial during the first quarter, indicating confidence in the company's prospects [2].

Brookfield Corporation has seen increased interest from institutional investors. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Brookfield by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 290,942 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 34,573 shares during the period. Several other institutional investors, including Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP, North Capital Inc., and ST Germain D J Co. Inc., have also bought shares of Brookfield in the first quarter [3].

Analysts from various firms have also expressed optimism about Brookfield Corporation. Morgan Stanley, Scotiabank, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have all given the stock an overweight or outperform rating, with Scotiabank boosting its price target to $75.00 [3]. TD Securities and CIBC have also increased their target prices, with TD Securities lifting its target to $82.00 and CIBC decreasing its target to $72.00 [3].

Cipher Mining has a Strong Buy consensus with a $7.50 price target, representing a 44.8% upside. The company has seen increased interest from institutional investors, with several hedge funds and other institutional investors modifying their holdings in Manulife Financial [2].

In conclusion, the positive ratings and price targets from analysts at Scotiabank, National Bank, and Cipher Mining suggest that Manulife Financial and Brookfield Corporation may have room for relative outperformance. However, investors should consider the negative insider sentiment and the company's recent earnings miss for Manulife Financial, as well as the high price-to-earnings ratio of Brookfield Corporation.

References:
[1] https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/scotiabank-resumes-manulife-financial-stock-coverage-with-sector-outperform-rating-93CH-4162103
[2] https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/filing-hb-wealth-management-llc-has-181-million-stock-holdings-in-manulife-financial-corp-nysemfc-2025-07-29/
[3] https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/filing-chicago-partners-investment-group-llc-grows-stock-holdings-in-brookfield-corporation-nysebn-2025-08-07/