J.P. Morgan Upgrades Rating, Raises PT To $47.50 On PETD

J.P. Morgan is upgrading its rating on Petroleum Development Corp.

from Underweight to Overweight and is raising its price target from $44.50 to $47.50 to reflect the stock's latest valuation. According to J.P. Morgan, “We are upgrading PETD from Underweight to Overweight based, primarily, on valuation and, secondarily, on near-term catalysts. PETD is trading at 65% of NAV versus the group at 85% and small caps at 90%. Near-term catalysts include a production ramp and drilling results from the Niobrara, Marcellus and Permian. The recent CEO change gives no indication about a fundamental problem with PETD, in our view. Our price target increase reflects the latest data and roll-forward of our model to 1Q11.” PETD closed at $30.75 yesterday.