Goldman Sachs shares fall for a fourth straight session on Friday, CEO Lloyd Blankfein likely to retire by December, NYT reports

According to a report by the New York Times on Friday, citing sources with knowledge of the situation, after heading Goldman Sachs Group Inc for almost 12 years, Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein is likely to retire by December.

Goldman Sachs shares closed lower for a fourth consecutive trading session on Friday. The stock went down 0.88% ($2.10) to $237.00, after touching an intraday low at $236.87, or a price level not seen since May 8th ($236.00).

In the week ended on May 20th the shares of the bank holding company lost 2.44% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the fourth drop out of five weeks.

The stock has neutralized earlier advance and is now down 0.56% so far during the current month, following a 5.37% slump in April. The latter has been a third straight monthly loss and also the largest one since May 2017.

For the entire past year, Goldman Sachs shares rose 6.39% compared with a 25.08% return for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI). In 2016, however, Goldman Sachs surged 32.86%, which outstripped gains generated by the underlying index (+13.42%).

According to the newspaper, Goldmans President David Solomon is likely to succeed 63-year old Blankfein.

Blankfein has managed to outlast calls for his departure following the 2007-2009 financial crisis and kept the role even during his struggle with cancer.

According to CNN Money, the 27 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Goldman Sachs’s stock price, have a median target of $280.00, with a high estimate of $330.00 and a low estimate of $200.00. The median estimate is an 18.14% surge compared to the closing price of $237.00 on May 18th.

The same media also reported that 14 out of 29 surveyed investment analysts had rated Goldman Sachs’s stock as “Hold”, while 9 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 2 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Goldman Sachs stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $237.17
R2 – $237.34
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $237.51
R4 (Long Breakout) – $238.03
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $238.63
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $238.87

S1 – $236.83
S2 – $236.66
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $236.49
S4 (Short Breakout) – $235.97
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $235.37
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $235.13

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $239.92
R1 – $242.96
R2 – $248.93
R3 – $251.97
R4 – $255.02

S1 – $233.95
S2 – $230.91
S3 – $224.94
S4 – $218.98