General Electric's Rally Likely Short-Lived

Fairfield, Conn. (TheStreet) -- General Electric (GE Quote) shares saw a big rally Friday, but it's hard to believe it will last for long.

GE had been selling off even since its Oct. 16 earnings report, but then surged more than 6% on the back of positive analyst commentary.

"We believe the risk GE Capital poses is reduced, the consensus 2010 earnings achievability is high and there is significantly more upside across the company into 2011," wrote Sanford Bernstein analyst Steven Winoker.

Oppenheimer analyst Chris Glynn changed his rating to "Outperform" from "Perform," citing strength in the industrial business.

"Credit market conditions and uncertainty over the future of NBCU [NBC Universal] have depressed the value of GE's core portfolio to unsustainable levels, and recent share price weakness presents a favorable risk/reward scenario," Glynn wrote.

The NBCU uncertainty looks to be cleared up soon. GE is expected to sell a controlling stake in NBC Universal to Comcast Corp. (CMCSA Quote). CNBC's David Faber reported Friday that talks between the companies remain on track, and said a deal would likely be announced on Nov. 16.

But it's difficult to make the case that the fate of NBCU has been what's weighing the shares down since the third-quarter report. The bigger issue, as it has been for over a year, is how much in unrealized losses GE is holding in its financial unit.

And while Oppenheimer's Glynn says the industrials businesses have posted better sales and margins than other names he covers, Barclays' Robert Cornell, a longtime GE watcher, thinks the fourth quarter will be tough for both the company's industrial and services businesses. And Glynn only raised his price target by a dollar, to $18. Winoker also went up by just a buck, to $19.