Citi Analyst: GM Is At A 'Defining Moment'

Citi analyst Itay Michaeli has a new note about General Motors. He's bullish, and he's direct: "Buy GM."

"After a difficult YTD for GM investors, we previewed the Investor Day [held this week] as something of a defining moment for stock sentiment," he writes. "In our view, management delivered nearly perfectly on our 'wish list' in a message filled with conviction and clarity."

There's definitely a shift in attitude toward GM's as an investment. The stock has been in the doldrums for what seems like forever. Maybe it's due to a perception that Ford is headed into a weak period, revamping its bestselling F-150 pickup to be lighter in weight and thereby by threatening, short term, a cash cow. Maybe it's because GM has handled its massive recall in a swift and satisfying enough manner for the markets - and because the company hasn't seen sales collapse as a result.

It's hard to write "recall notwithstanding" because the GM recall has been so huge. But let's give it a shot: recall notwithstanding, GM has been decisively recovering from the 2009 bailout and bankruptcy for five years.

But Wall Street hasn't thought much of the New GM.

That could be about to change.