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BNP Paribas Exane Issues Pessimistic Forecast for The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price

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Key Points

  • BNP Paribas Exane cut its price target on The Goldman Sachs Group to $940 from $970 and maintained a neutral rating, implying only about a 1.9% upside from current levels.
  • Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus Hold rating and an average target of $922.71 after several firms trimmed targets (eight Buys vs. fourteen Holds).
  • Goldman posted a strong Q1 beat (EPS $17.55 vs. $15.92; revenue $17.23B), but recent insider selling — including the CFO — and analyst caution could temper near‑term upside.
  • MarketBeat previews the top five stocks to own by May 1st.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from $970.00 to $940.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the investment management company's stock. BNP Paribas Exane's target price suggests a potential upside of 1.87% from the stock's current price.

GS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,050.00 to $1,000.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,125.00 to $1,049.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Autonomous Res cut their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,047.00 to $960.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $922.71.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded down $8.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $922.78. The stock had a trading volume of 211,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,383,267. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52-week low of $531.45 and a 52-week high of $984.70. The firm's fifty day moving average is $868.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $861.39. The company has a market capitalization of $272.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 13th. The investment management company reported $17.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $15.92 by $1.63. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 16.02%. The business had revenue of $17.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $14.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 59.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 11,623 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $941.57, for a total value of $10,943,868.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,342 shares in the company, valued at $27,627,546.94. This trade represents a 28.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 2,846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $927.17, for a total value of $2,638,725.82. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer owned 2,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,870,101.89. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 34,003 shares of company stock valued at $32,216,641 over the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,014,431 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $25,503,685,000 after purchasing an additional 418,820 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,564,783 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $17,197,444,000 after purchasing an additional 394,198 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,771,556 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $5,952,199,000 after purchasing an additional 110,134 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,726,721 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $5,896,795,000 after buying an additional 45,266 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,978,034 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $5,254,692,000 after buying an additional 194,109 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key The Goldman Sachs Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

About The Goldman Sachs Group

(Get Free Report)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs' core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.

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Analyst Recommendations for The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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