Japan Exchange Group downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs analyst Gurpreet Singh Sahi downgraded Japan Exchange Group to Sell from Neutral with a price target of 2,610 yen, up from 2,500 yen. The firm now sees risk-reward skewed to the downside after the exchange’s 53% year-to-date rally vs TOPIX +18%. As a result, Goldman is moving to the sidelines on: price rally has run ahead of core volume pick-up; the stock now trades at a steep price-to-earnings premium to mid-cycle, peer exchanges and TOPIX; and prior episodes of such “premiumization,” for a still cyclically exposed earnings stream, have led to weaker price performance thereafter.