BlackRock, Blackstone, Apollo, others nab Overweight rates at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo Equity Research started coverage on a plethora of investment managers in a recent note, handing out Overweight ratings to Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO), TPG (NASDAQ:TPG), Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF), Blackstone (NYSE:BX), Bridge Investment Group Holdings (NYSE:BRDG) and BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), and Underweight rating to Brookfied Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) and Invesco (NYSE:IVZ).

Analyst Michael Brown is bullish on:

• Apollo Global (APO), given the firm's robust growth profile and earnings reliability;
• TPG (TPG), on the view that it's a beneficiary of lower interest rates and "has the best optionality on growth levers for the next 1-5 yrs;"
• RayJay (RJF), due to "lower share count and better advisory revenue;"
• Blackstone (BX), on the expectation its fee-related earnings growth is poised to accelerate, "and lower rates is an added catalyst;"
• Bridge Investment (BRDG), " based on particularly favorable positioning for this YTD laggard in a decreasing interest rate scenario;" and
• BlackRock (BLK), as "premium results deserve a premium valuation."

He is bearish on:

• Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), on the premise the stock will continue to lag given its relatively high price-to-earnings ratio; and
• Invesco (IVZ), due to "high leverage, modest buybacks, and ongong fee-rate decline."

This page features a list of 62 asset managers ranked according to the SA Quant rating system.