Last week Simon properties got a big pop after being added to Goldman Sachs’ list of conviction buy recommendations. I decided to check on how stocks perform after being added to this elite list. Here are a few of their past picks:

6/23/2008 – Added X (United States Steel Corp.) @ $191
Later went on to reach a low of $17
Now trading at $28.5

6/26/2008 – Added MON (Monsanto) @ $134.90
Later went on to reach a low of $68
Now trading at $79

6/9/2008 – Added MOS (Mosaic Co.) @ $141
Later went on to reach an all time low of $29
Now trading at $44

5/23/2008 – Added AAPL (Apple, Inc.) @ $181
Later went on to reach an all time low of $80
Now trading at $121

3/25/2008 – Added ERTS (Electronic Arts, Inc.) @ $49
Later went on to reach an all time low of $15
Now trading at $18.70

3/4/2008 – Added RCL (Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.) @ $35
Later went on to reach an all time low of $5.65
Now trading at $10.80

5/19/2008 – Added AMZN (Amazon.com Inc.) @ $82
Later went on to reach an all time low of $35
Now trading at $77

7/11/2008 – Added QCOM (QUALCOMM Inc.) @ $48
Later went on to reach an all time low of $28
Now trading at $39

6/11/2008 – Added STT (State Street Corp.) @ $68
Later went on to reach an all time low of $17
Now trading at $33

7/8/2008 – Added TEVA (Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.) @ $45
Later went on to reach an all time low of $36
Now trading at $44

2/11/2008 – Added CAKE (The Cheesecake Factory, Inc.) @ $21
Later went on to reach an all time low of $5
Now trading at $14

Note: Most of these stocks are no longer on Goldman’s list. I did not include data on when a stock was removed from the conviction buy list. This list is not complete.

Could it be that Goldman adds stocks to their conviction buy list when their trading desk needs to unload a bunch of shares on someone? It’s possible, but I have no proof of this. It’s pure speculation. They got into trouble in 2003 for what were basically conflicts of interests between their various desks, as I understand it. The SEC document is here. Also see my post on the SPG squeeze.

Oh yeah, and what about those $200 oil calls by Goldman analysts? Could that have anything to do with their possible conflict of interest? Again, we have no proof of any wrongdoing. It just looks suspicious, to this amateur at least.

I couldn’t find a definitive page that lists all of their conviction buy ratings on Goldman’s site, but this one seems to be fairly accurate.

Disclaimer: Nothing on this site is meant as investment advice. Please don’t trade off any of it. This is a crazy market. Always use a finance professional when making decisions.

If any of this information is incorrect, please contact me and I’ll change it. I try to only post solid information that is verifiable by reliable sources.