"It's been a great ride, but it's time to move on."

That's what Bernstein said today when it downgraded GE to Market-Perform from Outperform. The firm said that GE now "trades at a premium multiple" and that they "expect performance [to be] more in-line from here."

But not everyone agrees with the call--or its timing. The "Halftime Report" experts defended the stock, saying that it's surge in the past twelve months does not necessarily point to a coming decline.

The stock--which is one of the most widely held--was trading lower following the rating cut.

"I think it can go higher from here," Jim Lebenthal said of the stock. While he's not buying GE at these levels, given the company's ongoing transformation he doesn't think the high valuation is entirely unwarranted.

Like Lebenthal, Pete Najarian believes the stock still has room to run. He's long General Electric, and believes that it will continue to move higher as it sheds its under-performing financial assets. That said, given that GE is up 25% over the past year, he understands the timing of the call.

"Any time you see a company get downgraded because there's really nothing bad to say but it's had a big run -- that's one of the all-time best times to put a name on your radar," said Josh Brown. He further questioned the value of the call since Bernstein raised its price target for GE despite cutting the overall rating. Brown currently owns GE.

Pete Najarian and Josh Brown are long GE.