11:00 AM EDT, 04/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

Despite earnings beat, we trim our target price by $3 to $45 on a forward P/E of 13.5x our 2024 EPS estimate, a premium to LAZ's five-year average multiple (11.2x) as we see a continued recovery in capital market activity accelerating through 2024 as CEO confidence improves. We raise our 2024 EPS estimate by $0.13 to $3.33 and lift 2025's by $0.06 to $4.23. LAZ posted Q1 2024 adjusted EPS of $0.66 vs. -$0.26, an $0.11 consensus beat on revenues that came in 8% above consensus at $747M. Net revenue growth was robust at 42% Y/Y, driven by strength within both Financial Advisory (FA, +63%) and Asset Management (AM, +4%). FA revenues were coming off weak comps, but benefited from improved investment banking activity. We expect FA results to continue improving through 2024 as buyer/seller valuations continue coming closer together following a difficult 2023. AM revenues benefited from equity market tailwinds, with AUM rising to $250B vs. $232B Y/Y. However, continued net outflows ($6.6B in Q1) remain a concern.