Wall Street Zen Downgrades BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) to Sell

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,313.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,486.00 to $1,514.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,305.00 to $1,298.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,316.18.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $1,112.50 on Monday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $172.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,067.68 and a 200-day moving average of $1,101.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.80% and a net margin of 26.64%.The business had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $11.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Martin Small sold 1,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,043.38, for a total value of $1,312,572.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 6,209 shares in the company, valued at $6,478,346.42. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,991,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,680,334,000 after acquiring an additional 227,192 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,143,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,281,641,000 after purchasing an additional 34,049 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in BlackRock in the second quarter worth approximately $2,644,007,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in BlackRock by 72.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,005,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,104,122,000 after buying an additional 842,901 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,841,088 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,146,663,000 after buying an additional 10,591 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting BlackRock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Massive one‑day inflows into bitcoin ETFs led by BlackRock’s IBIT (largest single ETF inflow), boosting fee-earning AUM and reinforcing BlackRock’s leadership in crypto ETFs. Bitcoin ETFs Pull $697M in One Day as BlackRock’s IBIT Leads Massive Market Inflows
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism that BLK is positioned to beat upcoming earnings again (strong surprise history, favorable revenue/fee mix) supports upside expectations for EPS and multiple expansion. Why BlackRock (BLK) is Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock raised its stake in OMV above a 4% voting threshold, showing active portfolio/strategic moves that can signal growth opportunities or activist-style influence. BlackRock Increases Stake in OMV Above 4% Voting Rights Threshold
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock’s 2026 outlook emphasizes AI-driven opportunities but calls for selectivity — constructive for fund flows into thematic ETFs but implies stock/strategy dispersion. BlackRock’s 2026 outlook: AI fuels growth, but selectivity takes center stage
• Neutral Sentiment: Rick Rieder (CIO, Global Fixed Income) warns 2026 is a market for investors not gamblers — stewardship comments that may encourage longer-term allocations but reduce short-term risk-on trading. ‘2026 Is a Market for Investors, Not Gamblers,’ Says BlackRock’s Rick Rieder
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock fund commentaries (e.g., International Fund Q3) and ETF-strategy interviews (Jay Jacobs) reiterate product-level growth but are informational rather than immediate stock catalysts. BlackRock International Fund Q3 2025 Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: BlackRock commentary on commodity opportunities (e.g., copper) highlights new thematic areas for clients, possibly supporting ETF/institutional flows over time. BlackRock Sees Prospect of ‘Very Exciting’ Copper Market
• Negative Sentiment: Speculative crypto token stories linking BlackRock to obscure tokens (e.g., Ozak AI token hype) create noise and reputational/volatility risk without substantiated corporate action — could distract/increase headline volatility. What Happens If BlackRock Quietly Enters Ozak AI? Analysts Say a Single Institutional Move Could Push This $0.014 Token to $5 by 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Background: last reported quarter saw a small EPS miss even as revenue grew strongly — that mixed print can keep some investors cautious ahead of the next report. BlackRock trading & recent results summary

About BlackRock

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.