Why Bernstein Downgraded GE

Bernstein Senior Analyst Steven Winoker was a guest on CNBC's "Squawk On The Street," justifying the firm's recent downgrade on General Electric Company (NYSE: GE).

"Look, the stock is up almost 30 percent over the last 12 months. It's trading at 21x, and there's really no margin for error from here," Winoker began.

Catalysts For GE

Addressing potential tailwinds moving forward, Winoker stated, "The catalysts to happen are already baked in, whether it's the Fed DECIF-ing (editor note: audio unclear), the expenditure of new capital as they raise new money, oil and gas coming back, aviation working perfectly."

Bernstein downgraded GE from Outperform to Market Perform, with an attached price target of $34.

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"There are a number of things that have to be executed flawlessly," Winoker commented.

Justification For Downgrade

Against the backdrop of the baked-in catalysts, Winoker emphasized the continued presence of pre-existing risks associated with the stock.

Based on his observations, Winoker surmised that GE is just not in a position likely to outperform at this time. "And on a risk/reward basis, you still have these risks while the stock has risen significantly. So, on a risk/reward basis, we look at it and just think that it is more equalized now. And that to us spells more in-line performance rather than significant outperformance."

"A lot of things have to go right for this stock to work and outperform from here," Winoker concluded.