Blackstone Sharply Higher After Citi Upgrade

Blackstone Group LP BX shares are trading higher by $1.92 (6.6 percent) at $31.79 in Monday's session.

Citi analyst William Katz forecasts that Saudi Arabia's investment with the company for an infrastructure initiative shall serve as a valuation catalyst. As a result, he upgraded his rating on the stock from Neutral to Buy and raised his price target from $32.00 to $40.00.

After a higher open, Blackstone's stock had only a dime retreat to $31.35 before continuing its move higher. So far, the continuation rally has taken the stock to $31.99 and it has backed off.

That marks the highest level for the stock since November 19, 2015, when it peaked at $32.07.