Goldman Sachs Sees Hamilton Lane As A Winner In Booming Alternative Investments Market – Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE)
As the landscape of asset management evolves, companies with innovative strategies and robust partnerships are capturing investor attention.
Amid this shift, significant movements in stock ratings signal promising opportunities for growth in the alternative investment sector.
Goldman Sachs analyst Alexander Blostein upgraded Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ:HLNE) to Buy from Neutral, setting a $165 price forecast, up from $162, implying more than 30% upside.
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Unpacking The Upside Potential
He cited the firm’s strong foothold in fast-growing areas of the alternative asset management industry—particularly Wealth/Evergreen funds and Secondaries.
Blostein said Hamilton Lane’s expanding product lineup, partnership with Guardian, and rising institutional demand for evergreen vehicles should fuel more stable growth in fee-related earnings (FRE) and margins.
He forecasts FRE to expand at a 27% compound annual rate from 2025 to 2027, driven by rising management fees in its Evergreen products, increased performance-fee contribution, and cost leverage. Earnings per share are projected to grow at a 20% annual rate, supported by monetizing a sizable performance-fee pool with significant unrealized value.
The company’s Evergreen franchise, managing roughly $14 billion in NAV, now accounts for over 30% of fee-related revenue—the highest share among alternative managers.
Guardian’s $250 million seed investment is expected to accelerate new fund launches, while Hamilton Lane’s partnership with Bloomberg on private-markets data adds another long-term growth driver.
Blostein noted that even after recent gains, HLNE shares remain attractively valued, trading at 21 times next-twelve-month P/E, which is below the historical average of 27× and the peers’ 23×.
He values the stock at 15× 2027E FRE, implying a 0.8× PEG ratio versus peers above 1.0×. Goldman’s EPS estimates—$5.36 for 2025, $6.28 for 2026, and $7.77 for 2027—run about 9% above consensus, reflecting expected margin and revenue acceleration.
Hamilton Lane recently reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.54, topping the $1.10 estimate, while revenue climbed to $190.9 million, exceeding the $172.1 million consensus.
Following the results, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Kyle Voigt maintained an Outperform rating on HLNE and lifted his price target to $158 from $150, citing the firm’s continued earnings strength and expanding fee base.
Price Action: HLNE shares traded lower by 1.63% to $125.77 at the last check Friday.
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