Wall Street Analysts Rev Up on General Motors

Wall Street appears to have once again fallen for General Motors (NYSE:GM) as a slew of brokerages began coverage of the bailed-out auto maker on Monday with bullish ratings.

According to Dow Jones Newswires, analysts at JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse, Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley all started GM at their highest rating: “overweight.” Analysts at Citigroup and Bank of America/ Merrill Lynch did the same, slapping “buy” ratings on GM.

The moves come after the 102-year-old GM was forced into bankruptcy and needed a $50 billion rescue from the U.S. in the wake of the Great Recession. But last month the new GM became the largest initial public offering in U.S. history by raising $20.1 billion in common and preferred shares.

Wall Street analysts also set bullish price targets on GM, highlighted by a $50 target from Morgan Stanley, which predicted “dramatic improvement” in the auto maker’s balance sheet.

JPMorgan said GM is a “high-octane macro play” and predicted it will see a “product renaissance” within two years, Dow Jones reported.

Credit Suisse was less optimistic, acknowledging “2011 won’t be easy” for GM and it has “limited new product coming to market this year.”

GM’s new shareholders cheered the upbeat sentiment from analysts, bidding the company’s stock 2% higher to $35.33 ahead of Tuesday’s open. The stock has climbed 1.2% since its debut.