CLSA analyst Mike Mayo is eyeing JPMorgan Chase, despite the bank's earnings miss on Tuesday. In a note he said, "JPMorgan remains the Lebron James of banking."
"Lebron James is good at both offense and defense, and for JPMorgan this quarter they didn't play offense too well, but their defense is very strong," he told CNBC's "Halftime Report" on Wednesday.
Mayo said that despite the miss, the bank is showing higher capital, better credit and a cleaner balance sheet. He added that the bank is gaining market share is investment banking and deposits. "So the environment was tough, it hit them disproportionately this quarter, but we think this is a one-off," he said.
On the larger theme for banks this quarter, Mayo said it is hard to draw conclusions about the sector since the third quarter is seasonally weak.
However, if interest rates stay lower for longer, he said, that means sustained headwinds for banks. "JPMorgan has a plan B. They're restructuring, they're retooling, they're a self-help story and that's in contrast to some other banks."
Gerard Cassidy, RBC Capital Markets, also said that JPMorgan was a victim of shaky capital markets this past quarter.
"We still think over the long term JPMorgan Chase is a very strong company and the earnings in this quarter were impacted by the disruptions in the global capital markets," he said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Wednesday. "But their core banking businesses, especially their focus on expenses, is very positive."
He expects that stock will get a boost when the Fed starts to raise rates and there is a recovery in capital markets. "Even if the Fed doesn't move on rates and the economy remains at moderate growth, you're going to see stronger returns of the excess capital that they are generating."
Disclosures: Neither Mike Mayo nor Gerard Cassidy owns shares of JPM. However, CLSA has received compensation for noninvestment banking services in the past.