4 Huge Analyst Calls: ConocoPhillips Edges Out Peers; ConAgra Cut at Jefferies

investing.com:

Here is your Pro Recap of the top takeaways from Wall Street analysts for the past week: upgrades for ConocoPhillips and Keurig Dr. Pepper; a downgrade for ConAgra; and a fresh Neutral rating for Lucid Group.

InvestingPro subscribers always get first dibs on market-moving upgrades. Start your 7-day free trial to see for yourself.

What happened? On Friday, Wolfe Research upgraded ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to Outperform with a $120 price target.

What’s the full story? Wolfe's move is a comparison upgrade, as it believes the company appears more favorably positioned over peers. Wolfe commented:

Reasons for Upgrade -

1) the bolt-on acquisition of 50% of Surmont from TTE (funded with cash on hand) both allays FCF downside in a lower oil price case next year and increases FCF sensitivity in an upside case;

2) major projects roll-forward and out of a peak spend in 2023 with robust return profiles in a mid-commodity scenario;

3) valuation compares favorably to US IOCs;

4) variable dividend comps ease into 2024;

5) oil price leverage is higher than US IOC peers in the near term and major projects add duration/NPV layer to oil px sensitivity;

6) ytd COP has underperformed XOM by 9% and the XOP by 7%.

Wolfe describes Outperform as:

The security is projected to outperform analyst's industry coverage universe over the next 12 months.

How did the stock react? After a $4 hammering in Thursday's session, the equity was rebounding Friday even as many broad indices slid. Friday COP gained from a mid-$100 handle open, ending Friday’s regular session up 2.9% to $103.23.

What happened? To start the week, Citi resumed coverage on Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) on Monday at Neutral with an $8 price target.

What’s the full story? Monday was a half