Asset Manager Shares Mostly Rise On Upgrades

MARK JEWELL

BOSTON (AP) — Shares of asset managers mostly rose on Wednesday after a Citi Investment Research analyst upgraded his ratings on four of the companies' stocks, citing recent improvement in the flow of cash to equity and fixed income investments.

Several drivers of a recovery in the flow of money to asset managers "should support higher upside, but more importantly partially offset downside risk in a declining market," analyst Keith F. Walsh wrote in a research note Tuesday.

"Our general view of the group has become more positive based on the trends," Walsh said.

Walsh raised ratings on Invesco Ltd. and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. to "Buy" from "Hold." He also raised Franklin Resources Inc. and Legg Mason Inc. to "Hold" from "Sell," and reiterated a "Buy" rating on BlackRock Inc.

Walsh raised his price target for Invesco to $20 from $16; for T. Rowe Price to $48 from $39; for Franklin Resources to $75 from $54; for Legg Mason to $22 from $18; and BlackRock to $190 from $165.