Goldman Sachs updated its global stock picks list, adding some stocks and deleting some. The stocks appear on the investment bank’s “Conviction List – Director’s Cut,” which it says provides a “curated and active” list of Buy-rated stocks. Goldman Sachs said they were selected by a subcommittee in each region that “works with analysts in each industry to identify the best ideas that combine conviction, differentiated views and high risk-adjusted returns.” Companies removed from the list in October included Qantas Airways and Chinese semiconductor company GigaDevice in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as oil giant Shell and Italian fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna in Europe. A number of stocks have also been added to the Directors’ Ratings, including the following three stocks, which Goldman Sachs also gives an upside potential of over 20% over the next 12 months. Experian, a Danish data company best known for providing consumer credit scores, is one such stock. “Experian has performed well (year-to-date), leaving investors questioning where the next leg of upside will come from,” the investment bank said. Analyst Suhasini Varanasi believes the company is on track to “Unlocking the data ecosystem that will drive growth and margin improvements,” she wrote in the bank’s Oct. 1 report on its European roster, Experian’s investments in new products and services “now We are at an inflection point that should support an acceleration in organic revenue growth.” She added that these developments could drive the company’s organic revenue growth to 9.5% for the full years 2026 to 2029, above historical levels of 5% to 7%. Experian, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the United States as American depositary receipts (ADRs), are up about 22.2% so far this year. Goldman Sachs has a 12-month price target of 52 pounds ($68) on the stock, implying potential upside of nearly 33%. Italian insurance company Generali is another stock on Goldman’s list. The bank’s analyst Andrew Baker likes the company’s “positioning for an easing of central bank policy rates.” “The company faces the strongest competition from non-insured savings products, and lower short-term interest rates should help ease lapse concerns,” he added in a report on the bank’s European list released on October 1. Baker also noted, About 90% of Generali’s property casualty business is retail, compared with an average of 55% among competitors, and he “likes the risk-reward that retail brings.” The stock, up about 37% year to date, trades on the Milan Stock Exchange and is included in the iShares MSCI Italy ETF (weight 4.9%) and other exchange-traded funds. Goldman Sachs has a price target of 31.50 euros ($34.50) on the stock, implying a potential upside of 20/5%. Keppel Rounding out Goldman Sachs’ Asia Pacific list is Singaporean conglomerate Keppel, whose businesses span real estate, infrastructure and asset management. Analyst Xuan Tan believes the stock will benefit from growth in its infrastructure segment, which is “poised to benefit from structurally higher power demand and the energy transition.” Keppel can further “capture this long-term opportunity” by expanding capacity by about 50% to 1,900 megawatts by 2026, Tan wrote in an Oct. 2 note on the bank’s Asia slate. The analyst also sees potential for future acquisitions, as the company is pushing for an interim divestment target of S$5 billion-7 billion ($3.8 billion-$5.4 billion). Keppel, whose shares trade on the Singapore Exchange and are listed in the United States as American depositary receipts, have fallen more than 8% so far this year. Goldman Sachs has set a price target of S$7.80 for the stock, implying a potential upside of 20.4%. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
