Sony Shares Gain on Increased Profit Forecast; Goldman Boosts Price Target

Sony Corp. gained the most in six months in Tokyo trading after raising its forecast for full-year profit and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its target for the share price.

The stock rose as much as 5.1 percent to 2,745 yen, the biggest intraday gain since Jan. 28, and traded at 2,712 yen as of 10:13 a.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Sony’s biggest rival Panasonic Corp., which also raised earnings forecasts yesterday, gained as much as 4.4 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 1.3 percent.

Sony, maker of Bravia televisions, yesterday raised its full-year net income forecast 20 percent to 60 billion yen ($693 million), citing strong sales of liquid-crystal display TVs. Sony unexpectedly reported net income of 25.7 billion yen in the first-quarter, from a loss of 37.1 billion yen a year earlier. The median estimate by six analysts in a Bloomberg News survey was for an 18 billion yen loss.

The results prompted Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital to raise their share-price estimates for Sony by 6.7 percent and 21 percent respectively.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mariko Yasu in Tokyo at myasu@bloomberg.net.

• Tweet
• More
  • Business Exchange
  • Buzz up!
  • Digg
• Print
• Email