UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Downgrades CME Group to Sell on EPS Risk

Goldman Sachs reduced its rating on CME Group

from Neutral to Sell and reduced its price target from $53 to $48. Goldman Sachs noted, "Although we view CME as the leading global futures exchange, with resilient margins and a powerful capital deployment strategy, we believe the Street is too optimistic on CME's near-term EPS outlook (we are 8% below consensus for 2013) given the most recent volume and open interest trends. Moreover, following CME's recent variable dividend announcement on 12/5/2012, we expect investor focus could shift back to the firm's core fundamentals, which continue to deteriorate with total open interest down 12% yoy through November." CME Group closed at $54.96 on Friday.