Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Blackstone with an “equal weight” rating and a $122 price target, implying approximately 8.7% upside from the reported $112.24 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 13 analysts rate Blackstone a Buy and 12 rate it Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $147.50.
• Blackstone exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.52 in EPS versus the $1.34 consensus and $5.04 billion in revenue, up 35.9% year over year; however, insiders sold more shares than they bought during the quarter.

Stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an "equal weight" rating and a $122.00 price target on the asset manager's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.70% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Argus increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.50.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.1%

BX opened at $112.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.59. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $132.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.14. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $170.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 573,614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $15,000,006.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,455,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,118,071.70. The trade was a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $12,380,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 771,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $95,523,956.20. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 1,038,406 shares of company stock worth $27,205,951 and sold 4,077,276 shares worth $37,573,644. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 99.1% during the fourth quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC now owns 221 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, NBH Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is reportedly exploring an offer for Robin Radar, a drone-detection technology company involved in a potential sale process valued at approximately $2.26 billion. The deal could expand Blackstone’s exposure to defense and security technology, although the report does not confirm that an acquisition will occur. Market Chatter: Blackstone Explores Offer for Robin Radar
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is committing $1 billion to build a military-technology company focused on counter-drone systems. The investment could create a long-term growth opportunity in a strategically important market and diversify Blackstone’s alternative-asset platform. Blackstone Announces $1 Billion Defense Technology Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with 13 Buy ratings and 11 Holds and an average price target of $148.71. That target implies substantial upside from recent trading levels, though some analysts have recently reduced their targets or retained Neutral ratings. Blackstone Receives Moderate Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Blackstone’s reported defense-tech investment was not immediately rewarded by the market, suggesting investors may be focused on execution risk, the substantial capital commitment and whether the new venture will generate timely returns. Blackstone Stock Falls Despite Defense Technology Investment
• Negative Sentiment: A major shareholder, BX Buzz ML-1 GP LLC, reportedly sold 3,767,776 shares and reduced its disclosed ownership by 99.57%. Large insider or shareholder disposals can weigh on sentiment, although the filing’s stated average sale price of $2.94 appears inconsistent with Blackstone’s quoted share price and should be treated cautiously pending clarification. Blackstone Major Shareholder Sale

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment solutions to institutional investors, companies, financial advisers and individual investors. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the company has developed a broad platform spanning private markets and other alternative investments.

Blackstone's businesses include private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, secondaries and hedge fund solutions. Its investment activities may involve acquiring and managing companies, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, private credit and other investments on behalf of its clients.

The firm serves clients and invests across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

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