Goldman Sachs seems to have found a sweet spot, one that has been kind to its stock price. But the question remains how long super-favorable conditions will last.

FBR Capital Markets analyst Steve Stelmach for now remains ever more bullish, Forbes notes. He increased his price target to $205 from $175. He boosted his earnings estimate to $16.21 a share from $14.68. The average forecast is $16.71 per share.

Part of the bullishness is predicated on a lack of competition--in such areas as trading and mergers and acquisitions. But you have to wonder how long this will last. At some point, spreads will narrow and competition will perhaps reduce its FICC profits. What's more, it seems like other banks are faring well in the deal advisory game. It certainly doesn't have the field to itself. The one area where I think the bank will get a pop is in principal transactions. It just sold a stake in Sanyo; that's one big gain a quarter, much like it used to do.  

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