UPDATE: Credit Suisse Raises PT to $196 on BlackRock on Stronger-than-Expected Earnings

Credit Suisse reiterated its Neutral rating on BlackRock BLK and raised its price target modestly from $195 to $196. Credit Suisse noted, "BLK released modestly stronger-than-expected earnings: 2Q12 EPS of $3.10 was above our $2.91 forecast (and consensus of $3.01) but included $0.12 of benefits from non-operating income and an unusually low tax rate. Accordingly, we view core operating EPS as $3.03, which was roughly in-line with the consensus. ƒ LT net flows (x-advisory and mmkt) of $3.7B were modestly above our forecast of $1.1B (implying 0.46% ann. organic growth): Upside to our estimates was driven by active equity and passive fixed income flows, partially offset by weaker active fixed income and alternative flows. BLK's pipeline increased by $31B q/q, but was mostly driven by lower fee, passive funds." BlackRock closed at $175.05 on Wednesday.