New York (CNN Business) Wall Street is betting the worst may finally be over for General Electric.

GE shares spiked more than 11% on Thursday, on track for their best day in nearly a decade, as investors expressed relief over signs of progress in the company's turnaround plan.

GE's power division remains a mess -- and it might not get better any time soon. But GE put to rest a major question by reaching a $1.5 billion settlement with the Justice Department over its defunct subprime mortgage lender. And CEO Larry Culp expressed confidence GE will generate strong cash flow growth beyond 2019.

"The crisis phase feels like it has passed," RBC analyst Deane Dray told CNN Business. "GE had such an epic unraveling. But there is value in the underlying business."

GE is finally moving past its decade-old subprime disaster . The company said it agreed in principle to pay a $1.5 billion civil penalty to settle the the Justice Department's investigation into WMC Mortgage, the subprime lender that was shut down a decade ago.

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