General Electric shares downgraded at Oppenheimer on valuation

General Electric (NYSE:) stock received a downgrade today after Oppenheimer analysts moved to Perform from Outperform.

The downgrade call appears to be fueled by valuation concerns, with the analysts highlighting the +35% rally since they upgraded the stock back in December.

“Our pivot to Perform could be conservative if markets afford 16-17x+ on Aviation (as we sometimes hear suggested), or perhaps 10x+ GEV (do not hear much), neither unreasonable, given singularity of the Aviation asset quality and potential longer-term profitability curve for GEV (vs. interim repositioning and developmental business structures),” they said in a downgrade note.

“We view downside protection as formidable, given singularity of the Aerospace asset; and long-term demand/competitive stability prospects for turned/turning-around GEV assets.”

Shares rose last week after the company raised its 2023 outlook for organic sales and earnings per share.

The stock is up 75% year-to-date.