On October 2, 2023, Joseph Baratta, a prominent director at Blackstone Inc (BX, Financial), sold 74,565 shares of the company. This move is part of a larger trend for the insider, who has sold a total of 329,565 shares over the past year and has not made any purchases during the same period.
Joseph Baratta is the Global Head of Private Equity at Blackstone and has been with the company since 1998. He has played a significant role in the company's growth and expansion over the years. His recent sale of shares has sparked interest and speculation among investors and market watchers.
Blackstone Inc is a leading global investment business investing capital on behalf of pension funds, large institutions, and individuals. The company's asset management businesses, with $571 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets, and secondary funds, all on a global basis.
The insider transaction history for Blackstone Inc shows a mixed trend. Over the past year, there have been 6 insider buys and 8 insider sells. This suggests a cautious approach by insiders, with more sells than buys.
On the day of the insider's recent sale, shares of Blackstone Inc were trading for $107.32 apiece, giving the company a market cap of $80.84 billion. The price-earnings ratio is 64.83, significantly higher than the industry median of 12.96 and the company’s historical median price-earnings ratio. This suggests that the stock is currently overvalued.
The GF Value, an intrinsic value estimate developed by GuruFocus, further supports this assessment. With a price of $107.32 and a GuruFocus Value of $80.47, Blackstone Inc has a price-to-GF-Value ratio of 1.33, indicating that the stock is significantly overvalued.
The GF Value is calculated based on historical multiples that the stock has traded at, a GuruFocus adjustment factor based on the company’s past returns and growth, and future estimates of business performance from Morningstar analysts.
In conclusion, the recent sale of shares by Joseph Baratta, coupled with the high price-earnings ratio and the GF Value, suggests that Blackstone Inc's stock may currently be overvalued. Investors should exercise caution and conduct thorough research before making investment decisions.
