UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Upgrades Williams Partners; Raises PT

According to a research report published this morning, J.P. Morgan has upgraded Williams Partners WPZ from Neutral to Overweight, and has increased PT from $64 to $65. In the report, J.P. Morgan said, "Since WPZ's secondary offering announcement on January 24, 2012, WPZ has underperformed the AMZX by 12% (-11% vs. +1%). We believe this weakness was driven by the ~$3bn of new equity issued in connection with the Caiman and Laser acquisitions. Due to the lower initial cash flows and subsequent ramp in cash flows as these projects mature, we believe Williams sought to over-equitize the B/S to protect the investment grade rating. However, this large chunk of equity has lead to a certain level of capital indigestion." Williams Partners closed yesterday at $56.85.