As the bank earnings reporting derby gets underway, a big question is whether Goldman Sachs will post a loss for the third quarter, which would be only the bank's second loss as a public company.

As of now, the ranks of sell-side stock analysts predicting a loss has grown to 13. The latest to jump on that bandwagon: Citi analyst Keith Horowitz, who slashed his earnings estimate for the bank to a 65 cent per share loss from a 10 cent gain, mainly on the expectation of a weak environment in trading and investment bank. According to Barron's, Horowitz expects Goldman to post a core loss of 50 cents, with one-time items accounting for the rest.

"That makes him one of the most pessimistic analysts on the Street; consensus calls for 50 cents of EPS with a high estimate of $2.76 and a low estimate of a 70-cent loss. Last year, the bank earned $2.98 in the third quarter."

The analyst remains bullish, however, especially at current prices. 

"New regulations and capital rules will create headwinds, but we have confidence this management team can recalibrate its business model to deliver mid-teen returns. One key question is whether this model will be driven off a smaller revenue base and balance sheet, which would potentially free up more capital for share buybacks. With the stock currently trading below tangible book value, we see this as a potentially attractive scenario, given any buybacks below TBV are accretive."

Goldman Sachs will report before the bell on October 18.

For more:
- here's the Barron's item

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