Wells Fargo and JPMorgan are set to release earnings before Tuesday's bell, in the first major reports of earnings season.
So which stock looks better now?
It apparently depends on whether you look at the banks from a technical or fundamental viewpoint.
Erin Gibbs, equity chief investment officer at S&P Capital IQ, says JPMorgan is the better bet right now.
Gibbs forecasts JPM to earn $1.40 per share in the first quarter, which would be 9.4 percent growth year over year. She also expects to see the bank report revenue growth of 6 percent.
Wells Fargo, on the other hand, "doesn't have quite as rosy an outlook for Q1, struggling with earnings and revenue growth." Gibbs only expects Wells to report earnings growth of 1 percent.
Given that Wells Fargo is facing tougher comparisons and is grappling with finding new areas of growth, but is trading at a richer valuation, "I definitely prefer JPMorgan over Wells Fargo," Gibbs said.
On the other hand, Todd Gordon of TradingAnalysis.com says the charts favor Wells.
"I think the higher multiple is actually leading toward a more rosy-looking Wells Fargo chart," he said.
Gordon says the stock is sitting right at its supportive trend line, and is due to either rise from here, or rebound after a post-earnings dip.
"From a relative strength point of view, Wells Fargo looks a little bit more poised to the upside," Gordon said.
Anton Schutz, CIO of Mendon Capital Advisors, said earlier on CNBC's "Halftime Report" that he would rather buy Wells Fargo and JPMorgan after a post-earnings dip.
Given how widely owned both Wells Fargo and JPMorgan are, "if there's a slight miss, if it's not perfect, those stocks could come under a little pressure—and then usually you'll find me being an owner, because I love to take advantage of other people's weakness," Schutz said.
