William Blair
William Blair & Company, L.L.C.
William Blair is an independent, employee-owned investment bank and asset manager headquartered in Chicago. Its equity research focuses on high-quality growth companies, mostly small and mid caps, and covered more than 700 companies as of June 2026.
Company history
William McCormick Blair and Francis Bonner opened Blair, Bonner & Company in Chicago on January 8, 1935; after Bonner left in 1941, the firm became William Blair & Company. It has remained independent and employee-owned, with its broker-dealer controlled by holding partnership WBC Holdings, L.P. It runs investment banking, investment management and private wealth businesses from more than 30 offices, including strategic alliances, and Brent Gledhill has been chief executive since January 2022.
- 1935Blair, Bonner & Company opens in Chicago
- 1941Renamed William Blair & Company after Francis Bonner departs
- 1976Launches Current Better Values list of growth ideas
- 2022Brent Gledhill becomes CEO; John Kreger named research director
Research
About 110 analysts and research professionals cover more than 700 companies across seven growth-oriented sectors—consumer; energy and power technologies; financial services and technology; industrials; global services; healthcare; and technology, media and communications—with over 70% of coverage in small- and mid-cap growth companies as of June 2026. Its Current Better Values list of growth ideas dates to 1976. Stocks are rated Outperform, Market Perform or Underperform relative to the broader market, generally the S&P 500, over 12 months.
Coverage12M
- Stocks
- 191
- Ratings
- 180
- Price targets
- 31
- Median upside
- +20.1%
- Upgrades
- 29
- Downgrades
- 85
- Initiations
- 33
- Reiterations
- 33
- Targets raised
- 0
- Targets cut
- 1
- Positive43%71
- Neutral54%89
- Negative3%5
Sectors
Ratings
Listing
Activity24M
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 PSNParsons Corporation | Buy | — |
 PLTRPalantir Technologies Inc. | Outperform | $84 |
 CRLCharles River Laboratories International, Inc. | Outperform | — |
 KRROKorro Bio, Inc. | Outperform | $10 |
 SPCXSpace Exploration Technologies Corp. | Outperform | — |
 APEIAmerican Public Education, Inc. | Outperform | $58 |
 ARGXargenx SE | Outperform | — |
 BAHBooz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation | Outperform | — |
 BDSXBiodesix, Inc. | Outperform | — |
 BIRKBirkenstock Holding plc | Market Perform | $44 |
Analysts24M
- Myles MinterKRRO1
- Sharon ZackfiaBIRK1
Recent actions
| Stock | Rating action | Rating | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
 Brinker International, Inc.EAT | Downgrade | Underperform | Sep 22 |
 Coinbase Global, Inc.COIN | Reiterate | Outperform | Sep 22 |
| DAEndava plcDAVA | Downgrade | Market Perform →Underperform | Sep 22 |
| YSYesway, Inc.YSWY | Initiate | Outperform | Sep 22 |
| ULUL Solutions Inc.ULS | Reiterate | Outperform | Sep 21 |
| CAPerspective Therapeutics, Inc.CATX | Initiate | Outperform | Sep 18 |
 Casey's General Stores, Inc.CASY | Reiterate | Outperform | Sep 16 |
 Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ZNTL | Initiate | Outperform | Sep 15 |
| SESEI Investments CompanySEIC | Upgrade | Market Perform →Outperform | Sep 15 |
| TMThe Metals Royalty Company Inc.TMCR | Initiate | Outperform | Sep 14 |
| LYLyntris Inc.LYNX | Initiate | Outperform | Sep 14 |
| BWThe Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc.BWIN | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform | Sep 14 |
Similar coverage12M
References
- Equity Research | William Blairwilliamblair.com
- History | William Blairwilliamblair.com
- William M. Blair - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- John Kreger | William Blairwilliamblair.com
- Brent Gledhill | William Blairwilliamblair.com
- 300 Current Better Values: An Investment Philosophy In Motion | William Blairwilliamblair.com