Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock Price

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 19.54% from the stock’s previous close.

BLK has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen lowered shares of BlackRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,340.00 to $1,150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,296.00 to $1,380.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,456.00 to $1,464.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,260.83.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,002.98 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $833.09 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,018.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,072.40.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The asset manager reported $13.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.55 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.80 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 22.93% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $11.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen Cohen sold 2,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,073.87, for a total value of $2,339,962.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,331.41. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.00, for a total transaction of $22,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,630,750. This represents a 24.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,319 shares of company stock worth $123,999,249. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 450.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 1,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 22 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Birchbrook Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Key BlackRock News

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional ETH buy and staking support — BlackRock reportedly purchased $60.8M of Ether for its ETF on April 7, the biggest single‑day ETH ETF buy in months, signalling continued institutional demand for its crypto products and potential AUM inflows. Blockonomi: Ethereum price prediction / BlackRock ETH buy
• Positive Sentiment: ETHB product expansion — BlackRock added Galaxy Digital as an approved validator for its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB), broadening institutional validator relationships and supporting staking capacity for a growing crypto ETF. Blockonomi: BlackRock adds Galaxy Digital to ETHB
• Positive Sentiment: Move into Nasdaq‑100 ETF market — BlackRock filed to launch Nasdaq‑100 ETFs to directly challenge Invesco’s QQQ, a move that could capture fee‑sensitive flows and expand ETF distribution if competitive pricing gains traction. Benzinga: BlackRock challenges Invesco QQQ
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings focus — Wall Street is publishing detailed forecasts for BlackRock’s March quarter (AUM, revenue, fees) ahead of the April 14 report; investors should watch net flows and fee mix for signs of momentum or headwinds. Yahoo Finance: Countdown to BLK Q1 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Resilience vs. peers — Coverage (WSJ/analysis) highlights BlackRock’s diversified index and active business helping it weather stresses in private credit better than some rivals, supporting relative valuation and investor confidence. WSJ: Why BlackRock is weathering private credit storm
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts trimming price targets — Multiple brokers (Barclays, Jefferies, KBW, TD Cowen, UBS, Goldman) have reduced Blk price targets this week, reflecting lowered expectations for near‑term earnings and tempering upside. MarketScreener: TD Cowen adjusts BlackRock PT
• Negative Sentiment: Legal inquiry announced — Pomerantz law firm has opened an investor investigation into BlackRock, introducing potential litigation risk and headline volatility. PR Newswire: Pomerantz investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Crypto outflows and margin pressure — BlackRock reported significant on‑chain crypto value declines and over $20B in crypto outflows in Q1, and management warned that macro/inflation effects could make prior earnings forecasts optimistic. Those trends can pressure fee revenue from crypto and active strategies. Finbold: BlackRock crypto outflows

BlackRock Company Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.