Shares in Preferred Bank dropped nearly 10 percent and hit a news 52-week low Friday after the company was downgraded by Friedman Billings Ramsey.

The investment firm cut the Los Angeles-based regional bank operator to “underperform” from “outperform” due to continued credit deterioration. The investment firm added that higher delinquencies might also impact earnings for the next quarter and cut its price target to $33 from $44.

This news comes a day after the bank reported an 18 percent jump in third-quarter net income, slightly missing Wall Street’s estimates. The bank also announced yesterday that Chief Credit Officer Walter Duchanin is leaving the company to pursue other interests.

Shares in Preferred Bank dropped 9.9 percent, or $3.63, to $33.11 in afternoon trading Friday on the Nasdaq.

The investment firm also downgraded Santa Monica-based FirstFed Financial to “underperform” from “market perform,” sending shares down 2.6 percent to $43.10 in afternoon trading Friday on the Nasdaq.