Goldman Sachs Reiterates Neutral Rating on CBOE Holdings (CBOE)

Goldman Sachs is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Neutral rating on CBOE Holdings Inc.

; it has a $24.00 price target on the stock. The GS analysts cited the company's pending tender offer for holders of CBOE's Class A-1/A-2 shares, which will expire on November 12. Since the tender launch on October 13, CBOE shares have rallied 9.7% to $24.37 as of today's closing price vs. a 0.7% increase in the S&P 500 over that time. The GS analysts added, “As the tender offer is at $22.50 and below the current share price, there are questions about the quantity of shares that may be tendered and what the firm would do in the event the tender is not fully subscribed.” There has also been some chatter about a possible secondary offering given 37 million shares are coming off restriction as of mid-December. As for valuation, the analysts remarked, “CBOE trades at 24x our 2010 estimate. Our P/E & SOTP derived price target of $24 implies CBOE will trade at 18X our 2011 estimate in 12-months.”