General Electric shares fall to lows unseen since March 2009 on Friday as J.P. Morgan slashes price target on the stock, maintains rating

Shares of General Electric Company (GE) retreated to lows unseen since March 2009 on Friday, after J.P. Morgan analyst Stephen Tusa revised down his price target from $10 to $6, while maintaining an ”Underweight” rating on the stock.

General Electric shares closed lower for a third consecutive trading session in New York on Friday. It has also been the steepest daily loss since October 30th. The stock went down 5.71% ($0.52) to $8.58, after touching an intraday low at $8.15, or a price level not seen since March 10th 2009 ($7.95).

Shares of General Electric Company have retreated 50.83% so far in 2018 compared with a 4.02% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, General Electric’s stock plummeted 44.78%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

According to Stephen Tusa, out of General Electric’s 8 reported segments, “all of which were profitable even 2 years ago, 6 are now likely either at or below zero in 2020.”

“While liquidity is certainly debatable, we believe this is not really about liquidity, it’s about a deterioration in run rate fundamentals,” J.P. Morgans Tusa wrote in a Friday research note, cited by Reuters.

“GE is a fundamentally strong company with a sound liquidity position. We are taking aggressive action to strengthen our balance sheet through accelerated deleveraging and position our businesses for success,” Jennifer Erickson, a spokesperson for General Electric, said in a statement following the research note.

The industrial conglomerate reported a loss of $22.8 billion during the third quarter, while also saying it was faced with a deepening federal accounting investigation.

According to CNN Money, the 18 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding General Electric’s stock price, have a median target of $13.00, with a high estimate of $21.00 and a low estimate of $10.00. The median estimate represents a 51.52% upside compared to the closing price of $8.58 on November 9th.

The same media also reported that 11 out of 22 surveyed investment analysts had rated General Electric’s stock as “Hold”, while 8 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 2 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for General Electric Company (GE) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $8.76
R1 – $9.36
R2 – $10.15
R3 – $10.75
R4 – $11.36

S1 – $7.97
S2 – $7.37
S3 – $6.58
S4 – $5.80