Bernstein
Sanford C. Bernstein Holdings Limited
Bernstein is a cash equities and equity research firm formed in 2024 as a joint venture of Societe Generale and AllianceBernstein and majority-owned by Societe Generale; it is known for fundamental company research and, under its Autonomous brand, coverage of financial-services stocks.
Company history
Sanford C. Bernstein founded his investment firm in New York in 1967; Alliance Capital acquired it in 2000, and the combined firm, renamed AllianceBernstein in 2006, bought financials research house Autonomous in 2019. In April 2024 AllianceBernstein and Societe Generale combined their cash equities and research businesses in a joint venture under the Bernstein name. On 1 January 2026 its North American and international entities merged into one company, 51% owned by Societe Generale, with options for full ownership from 2029.
- 1967Sanford C. Bernstein founds his investment firm in New York
- 2000Alliance Capital acquires Sanford C. Bernstein
- 2019AllianceBernstein acquires Autonomous Research
- 2024Joint venture with Societe Generale launches as Bernstein
- 2026Regional entities merged; Societe Generale holds 51%
Research
Coverage grew from about 1,000 companies at the 2024 launch to about 1,200 by April 2026, including about 400 US and 500 European stocks; Autonomous covered 286 financial-services companies as of April 2025. In 2025 Extel ranked Bernstein 10th in its All-America survey and 8th in Europe. Bernstein-brand ratings are Outperform, Market-Perform and Underperform, using a ±15-point band against a market index over 12 months; Autonomous rates against sector indices with a ±10-point band.
Coverage12M
- Stocks
- 407
- Ratings
- 625
- Price targets
- 753
- Median upside
- +16.3%
- Upgrades
- 34
- Downgrades
- 49
- Initiations
- 26
- Reiterations
- 516
- Targets raised
- 386
- Targets cut
- 207
- Positive53%178
- Neutral43%142
- Negative4%13
Sectors
Ratings
Listing
Activity24M
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 HDThe Home Depot, Inc. | Market Perform | $354 |
 TGTTarget Corporation | Market Perform | $154 |
 AMDAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc. | Outperform | $650 |
 AMZNAmazon.com, Inc. | Outperform | $320 |
 FDXFedEx Corporation | Buy | $397 |
 LOWLowe's Companies, Inc. | Outperform | $254 |
 MSFTMicrosoft Corporation | Outperform | $660 |
 PANWPalo Alto Networks, Inc. | Market Perform | $351 |
 CRWDCrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. | Market Perform | $132 |
 UNHUnitedHealth Group Incorporated | Outperform | $492 |
Analysts24M
- Jeffrey BernsteinEAT · JACK · CAVA43
- David VernonUPS · DAL · FDX26
- Stacy RasgonINTC · KLAC · AMD24
- Peter WeedS · OKTA · NOW24
- Zhihan MaHD · DG · TGT23
- Douglas HarnedRTX · LMT · BA23
Recent actions
| Stock | Rating action | Rating | Target | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENENGIY | Upgrade | Outperform | Sep 22 | |
 Otis Worldwide CorporationOTIS | Reiterate | Outperform | Sep 21 | |
 Amrize LtdAMRZ | Reiterate | Outperform | $70 →$60 | Sep 21 |
| BFBFLBF | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform | Sep 18 | |
 J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.JBHT | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform | Sep 17 | |
| CNCN | Reiterate | Outperform | Sep 17 | |
 e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.ELF | Target | $121 →$127 | Sep 17 | |
 Fortinet, Inc.FTNT | Target | $83 →$145 | Sep 17 | |
 Okta, Inc.OKTA | Target | $143 →$174 | Sep 17 | |
| CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.CRWD | Target | $119 →$132 | Sep 17 | |
 SentinelOne, Inc.S | Target | $21 →$25 | Sep 17 |
Similar coverage12M
References
- Societe Generale and AllianceBernstein announce the official launch of Bernsteinsocietegenerale.com
- Societe Generale Q4 2025 consolidated financial statementssocietegenerale.com
- AllianceBernstein 10-K for 2025 (Stock Titan)stocktitan.net
- Bernstein JV to deepen coverage as SG steps up in ECM - IFRifre.com
- Bernstein Is Now Available in S&P Global's Aftermarket Research Collection (2026)spglobal.com
- Autonomous Overview (April 2025)autonomous.com