UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Adds BlackRock (BLK) to Conviction Buy List, Removes Artisan Partners (APAM)

(Updated - September 15, 2015 10:26 AM EDT)

Goldman Sachs upgraded BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) from Buy to Conviction Buy, and downgraded Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE: APAM) from Conviction Buy to Buy. Analyst Alexander Blostein said he favors oversold asset managers in the aftermath of the Q3 sell-off.

"At 14X NTM P/E (record 10% discount to SPX vs. historical 10% premium), we think investors underprice BLK’s leading organic revenue growth, margin expansion and capital returns, which should drive a steady 10%+ EPS growth (even in flat markets). BLK’s exposure to secular themes (ETFs, Multi-Asset, Alternatives) and institutional client skew adds further stability," said Blostein.

Commenting on Artisan Partners Asset Management, he said, ""We remove APAM from CL, but stay at Buy. 2015 underperformance of Non-US Growth (200bps below benchmark 3QTD) is a near-term risk to the flow turnaround story as the fund accounted for 60% of inflows into open funds YTD. That said, we believe much of the bad news is already reflected in the stock’s 13X NTM P/E, while the stock’s 7% div yield (on cut estimates) should support shares."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on BlackRock click here. For more ratings news on BlackRock click here.

Shares of BlackRock closed at $301.06 yesterday.

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