NEW YORK, March 19, 2026, 12:13 PM EDT
Shares of Blue Owl Capital edged lower Thursday, losing roughly 0.7% to $9.05 by midday in New York. Earlier, the stock reached $9.14. Bank of America said the recent anxiety over private-credit managers overshoots the actual risks.
This call draws attention because Blue Owl stands out among listed names battered by the private credit selloff—lending beyond banks has not been kind to them. BofA pointed out shares tumbled nearly 40% so far this year and suffered their largest monthly loss ever in February. Short interest, Reuters said, hit a record 14.1% of free float as of March 5.
The strain isn’t isolated to a single name. This week, Reuters flagged that Wall Street banks have started clamping down on lending across the sector. Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Blackstone and Cliffwater each took steps to limit or control withdrawals from major private-credit funds, reacting as redemption requests surged.
Analysts at BofA, led by Craig Siegenthaler, insisted this isn’t shaping up like the 2008 global financial crisis—“this is not a GFC repeat,” as they put it in a note. The team pointed out that the market’s response comes down to “mainly a few minor data points.” For context, they highlighted that business development companies, or BDCs, use about two times leverage. That’s a fraction of what Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers carried in the run-up to 2008. mint
The bank maintained buy ratings for Blackstone, KKR, and Blue Owl, but bumped Ares up to its top pick. Thursday’s action was choppy—Ares gained around 1.2%, with Blackstone down 2.1% and KKR off by roughly 0.9%.
Blue Owl is still facing scrutiny sparked back in February, after selling $1.4 billion in loans from three funds, handing some of the cash back to investors, paying down debt, and tweaking how Blue Owl Capital Corp II distributes returns. The loans fetched 99.7% of face value—evidence, according to the firm, that its internal marks are solid. Co-President Craig Packer emphasized that Blue Owl wasn’t “halting redemptions,” but instead was shifting its approach to liquidity. Reuters
The deal triggered a split among analysts. Truist’s Brian Finneran pointed out that some investors took the sale to mean withdrawal requests had picked up pace. Oppenheimer’s Mitchel Penn, on the other hand, argued that Blue Owl’s decision to sell assets at its own marks proved the firm could unlock liquidity even in a tough market, adding that “nobody is getting a break.” Reuters
The risks aren’t buried. Say redemption requests climb at semi-liquid funds—these vehicles only let investors pull out so much, and their portfolios are stuffed with illiquid loans—then watch for fresh pressure on valuations, the fundraising pipeline, and even credit lines. Losses mounting among software-backed borrowers could fan those flames. According to Reuters, as of June 2025, U.S. banks were sitting on about $925 billion in exposure to private credit and private equity, counting unused commitments.
Blue Owl oversees upwards of $307 billion spanning credit, real assets, and GP Strategic Capital, per its investor site. Despite the new support from BofA on Thursday, shares hovered close to $9 in New York.
