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JPMorgan says it’ll wait a bit before raising its outlook on Blackstone . Blackstone “has the leading brand in alternative investments, earned by a combination of successful investments, strong performance, lofty fundraising and elevated shareholder returns,” analyst Kenneth Worthington wrote in a Friday note. Nonetheless, Worthington downgraded Blackstone to neutral from overweight. He slightly raised his price target to $111 from $102, which implies just 3.2% upside from where shares closed on Thursday. The firm upgraded Blackstone shares at the start of 2023 on the belief that investors were over-penalizing Blackstone for its outflows in its Real Estate Income Trust division. However, with the fears having reduced in recent months and a rise in share price, the analyst now thinks many of the stock’s positives as being priced in. “For the multiple to expand further, we’d want to see organic growth supported again by perpetual fund growth, which is currently weighed down by a depressed sentiment for real estate investing.” Blackstone shares have rallied nearly 45% year to date. Worthington added that speculation over the stock being added to the S & P 500 has also fueled its rise. The company’s second-quarter earnings were released Thursday, and were generally in-line with expectations. The analyst said the management’s comments of a potential thaw in deal-making activity in the private equity division would be a tailwind. To be sure, Worthington thinks the real estate sector will likely “require a drop in rates to see a substantial improvement.” Shares fell 1.6% Friday during premarket trading. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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