Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Oppenheimer upgraded Blackstone (BX) from "market perform" to "outperform" and set a $154 price target, implying roughly a 34% upside; the MarketBeat consensus average target is about $155 with an overall "Moderate Buy" rating.
• Blackstone beat quarterly estimates, reporting $1.75 EPS vs. $1.54 expected and $4.36B revenue (+41.4% YoY), while the stock trades near $114.86 with a market cap of roughly $85.3B and a PE of 29.6.
• Notable insider moves: Holdings IV GP Mana Blackstone bought 2.87M shares (~$75M), increasing its stake by 18.2%, while BX Buzz ML‑1 GP LLC sold 7.48M shares (a 99.66% reduction); about 70% of the stock is held by institutions.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $154.00 price target on the asset manager's stock. Oppenheimer's price objective suggests a potential upside of 34.08% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $141.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $158.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.27.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $114.86 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $117.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.01. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.74.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at $487,129,914.25. This trade represents a 18.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,670.32. This trade represents a 99.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.3% during the third quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 2,993 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 0.4% during the third quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 15,116 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Lazari Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone by 4.5% during the third quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,578 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,194,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc NYSE: BX is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone's business is organized around several principal investment platforms.

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