Goldman upgrades Affiliated Managers on growing alternative business

Goldman Sachs upgraded Affiliated Managers (AMG) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $218, up from $197, representing 17% upside from the current stock price. The company has made “significant progress” shifting towards the faster growing alternative business, which has grown at 8% organically on average over the last three years and now accounts for 50% of EBITDA, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm expects this mix shift to continue and sees momentum building for Affiliated with a “robust” institutional fundraising pipeline for private markets affiliates and growing contributions from retail private markets products.