Money management behemoth BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) was downgraded by analyst at both Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) and Deutsche Bank AG, citing the belief that investors were overestimating the company’s future profits.
Citigroup analyst William Katz said in a research note published on Friday that investors are too optimistic about BlackRock’s December acquisition of Barclays Global Investors and are underestimating the amount of reinvestment spending at company. Katz said that investors may be placing too much emphasis on the company’s results from the month of December in its fourth-quarter earnings results.
BlackRock recently purchased BGI, owners of the iShares ETFs from London’s Barclays Plc for $15.2 billion in cash and stock to become the world’s largest asset manager.
According to data from Bloomberg, Katz is the only analyst to give BlackRock a sell recommendation. 12 other analyst have a buy or a hold rating on the company.
Deutsche Bank’s Michael Carrier recently reduced his recommendation on BlackRock to “hold” from “buy,” projecting a share price of $235 within 12 months.
