GE Grabs A Pair Of New Upgrades Following CEO Change

After a big day of gains following an unexpected CEO transition, General Electric Company GE received some more good news on Tuesday in the form of a pair of Wall Street upgrades.

The Analyst

Wolfe Research analyst Nigel Coe upgraded GE from Peer Perform to Outperform and raised his price target from $15 to $16.

The Thesis

The appointment of new CEO Larry Culp is a game-changer for GE investors.

“The proximate cause of GE’s current malaise is epic equity capital value destruction (Capital write-downs, Alstom, under-funded pension and insurance liabilities, etc.) – we can say with high confidence that this period is now behind us,” Coe wrote in his upgrade note.

He said Culp’s appointment could serve as an inflection point for GE market sentiment, which has been decidedly negative for years.

The Analyst

RBC Capital Markets analyst Deane Dray upgraded GE from Sector Perform to Outperform and raised his price target from $13 to $15.

The Thesis

In his note, Dray said GE stock has likely finally reached the bottom of its current downturn.

“To be clear, there is still much to fix at GE, but the market can now have full confidence in the senior leader at the helm,” Dray said.

He said RBC is extremely familiar with Culp’s tenure as CEO of Danaher Corporation DHR and has been impressed by his leadership, pursuit of operating excellence and emphasis on accountability.

Price Action

After a 7-percent gain Monday, GE stock traded around $12.07 at time of publication Tuesday.

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Photo courtesy of GE.