UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Downgrades SolarCity Corp. to Neutral, Raises PT on More Balanced Risk/Reward

In a report published Thursday, Goldman Sachs analyst Brian Lee downgraded the rating on SolarCity Corp.

from Buy to Neutral, but raised the price target from $20.00 to $23.00. In the report, Lee noted, “We downgrade SCTY to Neutral from Buy, as we believe risk/reward is now more balanced following outperformance. The recent rally in shares (+45% in past month vs. RUT +1%), in our view, has been driven by (1) optimism around alternative, low-cost financing for the renewables sector (e.g., MLPs), (2) positive sentiment around solar peers (e.g., First Solar analyst day), and to a lesser extent (3) company-specific news flow. However, we see near-term catalysts being more mixed and unlikely to drive sufficient stock appreciation to warrant a Buy rating from these levels. Since being added to the Buy List on 1/7/13, SCTY is +75% vs. the RUT +8%.” SolarCity Corp. closed on Wednesday at $28.00.