Meredith Whitney Invokes “Why be greedy?” Rationale on Goldman Downgrade

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) received its first downgrade of the year-to-date period since the firm’s PPS bottomed out at $73.95 on March 9.

Today’s “neutral” from “buy”downgrade comes by none other than bearish star analyst Meredith Whitney, who still expects Goldman –due to report earnings Thursday — to post earnings beats for the third and fourth quarters.

While Whitney is known for her bearish stance on the market and economy, her Goldman downgrade is nothing dramatic. In fact her downgrade represented only an opportunity to lock in some profits, after the stock has raked in over 30% since her upgrade July 13. She insists she remains ”fundamentally constructive” on the ticker long term.