Oppenheimer Upgrades Goldman Sachs To Outperform, Following Settlement

Oppenheimer upgrades Goldman Sachs GS from “perform” to “outperform.” The 12-18 month target price for GS is set to $213. The upgrade in rating follows the company's settlement with the SEC for $550 million. The settlement should enable the stock to trade on the underlying earnings fundamentals, "which we believe are very strong," Oppenheimer says. Oppenheimer believes that the penalty is excessive, considering the alleged violation. However, the analysts feel that the settlement price is manageable for Goldman, given that it has over $10 billion annual earnings power and the settlement will put the matter in the past. Oppenheimer notes that Goldman is scheduled to report its Q2 earnings on July 20. GS' shares were up 3.53% to $150.35 at 9:56 am.