UPDATE: Jefferies Upgrades U.S. Silica Holdings to Buy, Raises PT on Raw Frac Sand Potential

In a report published Thursday, Jefferies analyst Brad Handler upgraded the rating on U.S. Silica Holdings SLCA from Hold to Buy, and slightly raised the price target from $24.00 to $25.00. In the report, Handler noted, “We upgrade SLCA to Buy from Hold and tweak our PT up by $1 to $25. We give more credit to the medium term earnings potential of (1) raw frac sand, given the strength of SLCA's apparently best-in-class distribution network (which also appears to give upside optionality in the current spot-market-heavy environment) and (2), more modestly, Industrial Products opportunity, which more than offsets the softer Resin market.” U.S. Silica Holdings closed on Wednesday at $20.01.