General Electric shares were marked 2.2% higher in early afternoon trading following the earnings release to change hands at $107.62 each. GE shares have gained around 4% since debuting their split-adjusted price on August 2 as investors looked past the group's stronger-than-expected second quarter earnings last week and an improved outlook for industrial cash flows to fragility in the global economic recovery and surging input costs for the industrial sector. JPMorgan analysts Stephen Tusa, a long-time GE skeptic who carries a 'neutral' rating with a $55 price target on the stock, said earlier this month that weakening near-term fundamentals make the industrial group's longer-term anchors "more optimistic". He also suggested that recent portfolio moves, as well as the appointment of a new CEO at GE Healthcare earlier this summer, represent a "plan b' for the company as it moves into a more difficult macroeconomic backdrop over the final months of the year.