UPDATE: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Reiterates Underperform Rating, Raises PT on EnCana Corporation

In a report published Friday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its Underperform rating on EnCana Corporation

, and raised its price target from $20.00 to $22.00. BofA Merrill Lynch noted, “ECA announced it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Phoenix Duvernay Gas (a wholly owned subsidiary of PetroChina) for $2.18bn. PetroChina will be acquiring a 49.9% non-controlling interest in ECA's 445k net acre Duvernay land base. The $10k/acre is admittedly bullish when considering ECA JV'd its ENTIRE acreage position. PetroChina paid $1.18bn upfront (deal is closed) and will pay $1.0bn over four years. ECA will retain operatorship. The deal does not require Industry Canada approval and we believe this type of ownership structure is what the Canadian government is looking for.” EnCana Corporation closed on Thursday at $21.08.