Goldman Sachs has dropped from a high of more than $420 in November to about $336 as of March 30. That's a bit surprising, given that rising interest rates help the banking industry. However, traders are selling off Goldman for other reasons. For one, analysts anticipate slower trading activity after a huge 2021. For another, the rise in interest rates may slow activity on the investment banking side of the business, such as initial public offerings. Regardless, shares are trading at less than 6 times trailing earnings and just 8.5 times forward earnings. One other important point: As of year-end 2021, Goldman Sachs had just $414 million of market exposure to Russia and $293 million of net credit exposure there, but reports indicate that the company will profit from that exposure by selling Russian debt to U.S. hedge funds and other investors. For a bank that generated more than $21 billion in net income last year, Goldman's risk from the Russia-Ukraine conflict is minimal.
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