Key Takeaways
- • Blue Owl Capital (NYSE: OWL) shares rose about 5.67% on the session, with the stock closing near $9.71 after reports that investment bankers are exploring a full or partial sale of the firm, per the Wall Street Journal.
- • OWL remains down roughly 67% from its January 2025 peak, and TD Cowen raised its price target to $16 from $15 with a Buy rating, while Piper Sandler cut its target to $12 from $13 but kept an Overweight rating.
- • Blue Owl is capping redemptions from two private credit funds at 5%, a liquidity signal that analysts cite as a key risk alongside the potential sale upside.
- • Stack Infrastructure is in exclusive talks with a BlackRock-led group to sell its Asia-Pacific data-center portfolio for $20-25B, down from earlier hopes above $30B, and is arranging an A$8.6B (about $6B) loan for a Melbourne data center.
- • The $3B Project Jupiter data center in New Mexico, tied to Oracle, has been delayed about a year, and Oracle has issued a force majeure notice allowing it to defer payments if the site is not online by 2028.
Summary
Shares of Blue Owl Capital Inc. (NYSE: OWL) traded up 5.67% on Thursday, October 22, 2026, after reports that investment bankers are exploring a full or partial sale of the firm. According to the Wall Street Journal, the reports drove the move, and the stock closed near its intraday high at about $9.71. Analysts have pointed to the firm's fundamental and scarcity value as the basis for potential buyer interest. Names floated as possible strategic buyers include T. Rowe Price and Carlyle.
The stock has fallen roughly 67% from its January 2025 high, and the rebound comes as management pushes the firm beyond pure private credit into products for pensions and insurers and into its AI-linked digital infrastructure business. Analyst views are mixed. TD Cowen raised its price target to $16 from $15 and kept a Buy rating, naming OWL a top pick among traditional asset managers ahead of Q3 earnings. Piper Sandler lowered its target to $12 from $13 but maintained an Overweight rating, and Wells Fargo initiated coverage at Equal Weight with a $10 target, saying the turnaround will take time.
Risk factors include the decision to cap redemptions from two private credit funds at 5%. Blue Owl is also expanding an insurance-related business using a balance-sheet-light model, hiring senior insurance talent rather than acquiring an insurer. Through Stack Infrastructure, the firm is arranging an A$8.6B (about $6B) five-year loan for a large Melbourne data center and is in exclusive talks with a BlackRock-led group to sell its Asia-Pacific data-center portfolio for $20-25B. Project Jupiter, a $3B New Mexico data center, has been delayed by about a year. Blue Owl and Oracle state that financial commitments remain intact.
The firm manages $319B in AUM and reported free cash flow of about $452.9M last quarter. The stock trades at a P/E near 79 and a price-to-sales ratio of about 4.95, with a headline dividend yield near 10% and leverage above 2x debt-to-equity. Third-quarter earnings are scheduled for October 29, 2026.
The stock has fallen roughly 67% from its January 2025 high, and the rebound comes as management pushes the firm beyond pure private credit into products for pensions and insurers and into its AI-linked digital infrastructure business. Analyst views are mixed. TD Cowen raised its price target to $16 from $15 and kept a Buy rating, naming OWL a top pick among traditional asset managers ahead of Q3 earnings. Piper Sandler lowered its target to $12 from $13 but maintained an Overweight rating, and Wells Fargo initiated coverage at Equal Weight with a $10 target, saying the turnaround will take time.
Risk factors include the decision to cap redemptions from two private credit funds at 5%. Blue Owl is also expanding an insurance-related business using a balance-sheet-light model, hiring senior insurance talent rather than acquiring an insurer. Through Stack Infrastructure, the firm is arranging an A$8.6B (about $6B) five-year loan for a large Melbourne data center and is in exclusive talks with a BlackRock-led group to sell its Asia-Pacific data-center portfolio for $20-25B. Project Jupiter, a $3B New Mexico data center, has been delayed by about a year. Blue Owl and Oracle state that financial commitments remain intact.
The firm manages $319B in AUM and reported free cash flow of about $452.9M last quarter. The stock trades at a P/E near 79 and a price-to-sales ratio of about 4.95, with a headline dividend yield near 10% and leverage above 2x debt-to-equity. Third-quarter earnings are scheduled for October 29, 2026.
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