GE Can’t Take Credit for This Stock Pop
The industrial giant has an analyst to thank for the surge in its shares. Many questions remain unanswered.
Don’t call it a comeback yet.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergGeneral Electric Co.’s stock price is a game of shareholder confidence, and for once, the company is winning. But not because of anything it did or said.
Shares of the troubled industrial conglomerate jumped as much as 12 percent on Thursday morning and were on track for the biggest gain since 2015. That shows how long it’s been since GE has had tangible good news; unfortunately, investors are still waiting for that. The primary driver of GE’s stock pop on Thursday wasn’t clarity around liabilities at GE Capital or the company’s plan to pay down debt. It was the fact that JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Steve Tusa, the most notable GE bear for the past few years, changed his recommendation on the stock from “underweight” to “neutral.”