Larry Culp, CEO, General Electric
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
UBS lowered its rating on shares of General Electric to neutral from buy on Monday, saying the firm was “taking a breather after recent stock outperformance.”
“A notable decline in interest rates and ongoing power market weakness drive our more balanced valuation upside/downside,” UBS analyst Damian Karas said in a note to investors. While UBS is cautious on GE right now, Karas added that “we believe that we can start to look increasingly at the multi-year turnaround/transformation.”
GE slipped nearly 1% in premarket trading from Friday’s close of $10.37 a share. The stock is up more than 42% since the beginning of 2019, although GE shares remain below this year’s closing high of $10.88 a share hit in February.
UBS also lowered its price target on GE to $11.50 a share from $13 a share.
The firm’s buy rating was set in October by former UBS analyst Steve Winoker, who GE hired in January as VP of investor relations.
– CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.