JMP Securities LLC analyst Devin Ryan downgraded shares of alternative asset managers Apollo Global Management Inc. and KKR & Co. Inc., to "Market Perform" from "Market Outperform."

Ryan said the firms' fundraising, deployment and investment performance fundamentals continue to benefit from secular tailwinds but that "the bar has moved meaningfully higher for 2020."

In the analyst's view, a meaningful pickup in performance-related earnings is baked into 2020 expectations. Thus, any shortfall on that front could disappoint the market.

The target prices for Apollo Global Management and KKR are $46 and $33, respectively, and the estimates for FY'20 EPS are $3.05 for Apollo Global Management and $2.05 for KKR.