New York-based Blackstone Inc. (BX) operates as an alternate fund manager, specializing in private equity, real estate, public debt & equity, and more. Valued at $97.8 billion by market cap, Blackstone invests at various stages of a company or startup’s life cycle, including early-stage, seed, middle market, mature, and late-stage venture.

The financial sector giant has notably outperformed the broader market over the past year but slightly underperformed in 2025. BX stock has surged 12.1% over the past 52 weeks and plunged 21% on a YTD basis, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 8.6% gains over the past year and 4.3% drop in 2025.

Narrowing the focus, BX has also outpaced the industry-focused WHITEWOLF Publicly Listed Private Equity ETF’s (LBO) marginal 33 bps uptick over the past year but underperformed LBO’s 12.1% decline on a YTD basis.

Blackstone’s stock prices observed a marginal uptick after the release of its impressive Q1 results on Apr. 17. Driven by solid capital inflows, the company’s AUM touched a record $1.2 trillion, increasing more than 10% compared to the AUM levels recorded in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, the company’s management and advisory fees and incentive fees have continued to surge, but its performance allocations and other revenues have observed a notable decline. This led to its overall topline declining from $3.7 billion in Q1 2024 to $3.3 billion. On a more positive note, Blackstone’s distributable earnings increased 11.4% year-over-year to $1.4 billion, and its distributable earnings of $1.09 per share surpassed the consensus estimates by 4.8%.

For fiscal 2025, ending in December, analysts expect BX to deliver a 4.1% year-over-year growth in distributable earnings to $4.83 per share. The company has a mixed earnings surprise history. While it missed the Street’s earnings estimates once over the past four quarters, it surpassed the projections on three other occasions.

The stock holds a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating overall. Of the 22 analysts covering the BX stock, opinions include eight “Strong Buys,” one “Moderate Buy,” 12 “Holds,” and one “Strong Sell.”

This configuration is slightly more bullish than two months ago, when only six analysts gave “Strong Buy” recommendations.

On Apr. 22, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Michael Brown reiterated a “Market Perform” rating on BX, but reduced the price target from $141 to $139.

Blackstone’s mean price target of $145.86 represents a 7.1% premium to current price levels, while its street-high target of $175 suggests a staggering 28.5% upside potential.