Goldman Sachs shares gain for a second straight session on Friday, UK’s FCA probes Wall Street bank in relation with reporting practices

According to a Friday report by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, Goldman Sachs Group Inc is being investigated by UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over its reporting practices associated with the new regulatory framework within the European Union.

Goldman Sachs shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Friday. The stock edged up 0.16% ($0.38) to $233.38, after touching an intraday high at $233.72, or a price level not seen since August 9th ($236.84).

Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc have retreated 8.39% so far in 2018 compared with a 6.60% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Goldman Sachs’s stock rose 6.39%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

A complaint was sent to UK’s FCA earlier this year by a former employee of Goldman Sachs Group, who alleged the Wall Street bank had systematically flooded regulatory authorities with too much data as well as with inaccurate information, thus, violating compliance standards.

As noted in a report by Reuters, Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II), which came into effect earlier in 2018, postulates that investment research should be priced separately from other brokerage services, so that transparency can be achieved.

According to CNN Money, the 27 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Goldman Sachs’s stock price, have a median target of $278.00, with a high estimate of $336.00 and a low estimate of $200.00. The median estimate represents a 19.12% upside compared to the closing price of $233.38 on August 17th.

The same media also reported that 14 out of 29 surveyed investment analysts had rated Goldman Sachs’s stock as “Hold”, while 11 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 1 analyst 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 – $233.57
R2 – $233.76
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $233.95
R4 (Long Breakout) – $234.52
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $235.19
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $235.48

S1 – $233.19
S2 – $233.00
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $232.81
S4 (Short Breakout) – $232.24
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $231.57
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $231.28

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 – $231.22
R1 – $235.88
R2 – $238.37
R3 – $243.03
R4 – $247.68

S1 – $228.73
S2 – $224.07
S3 – $221.58
S4 – $219.08