UPDATE: Deutsche Bank Upgrades Goldman Sachs Group to Buy, Raises PT on Positive 4Q Outlook

In a report published Thursday, Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O'Connor upgraded the rating on

from Hold to Buy, and raised the price target from $163.00 to $181.00. In the report, Deutsche Bank noted, “Since post 4Q12 EPS (i.e. late January 2013), GS shares have lagged peers by 700bps—likely due to a disappointing 3Q (and even 2Q in some areas) and uncertainty over pending regulation. From here, expectations seem low, 4Q should benefit from continued comp flexibility (we don't think GS used all of this in 3Q), likely better relative performance in both FICC and EQ trading and good completed M&A. 1Q should also benefit from higher seasonality. With the stock trading at just a modest premium to stated book, we see decent valuation support. Our new 12 month TP of $181 assumes GS trades at 1.1x our year end 2014 projected stated book value of $166.” Goldman Sachs Group closed on Wednesday at $157.74.