UPDATE: Canaccord Upgrades Total to Hold

In a report published earlier today, Canaccord Genuity upgraded its rating for Total S.A.

from Sell to Hold, but did not name a price target. Canaccord went on to say “The past two months have seen little sign of the typical defensiveness from the European integrated oils. We don't think this is too surprising, since 1) the larger Eurozone stocks have acted to some degree as proxies for their domestic markets for much of the past two years and 2) we think much of crude's recent strength was simply due to risk appetite, which is why we have seen such a sharp correction in crude in line with the market in recent weeks. Absolute valuations are now discounting long-term crude prices way below current levels, but investor sentiment towards the sector still seems highly nervous.” Total S.A. closed yesterday at $44.39.