Goldman Says Buy State Street (STT)

Goldman Sachs has a research note on State Street Corporation STT and is upgrading it to Buy from Neutral. It has a $50 price target on shares. In a note to clients, Goldman writes, "We upgrade STT to Buy from Neutral ($50 PT) as the stock has multiple strengths in its core custody/management business (53% of revenues), the highest global exposure among peers, and excess capital, at a discount of 11X 2011E P/E. We lower NTRS to Neutral from CL Buy ($52 PT) as it is most sensitive to rate pressures. We see long-term value in the franchise, but absent the rate catalyst the shares likely stay range-bound. BK (Neutral, $29 PT) offers benefits similar to STT with potential upside in active asset management." Shares of STT gained $1.67 yesterday to close at $43.95, a gain of nearly 4%.