UPDATE: Sterne Agee Downgrades Pioneer Natural Resources on Weakening Earnings Growth Outlook

In a report published Wednesday, Sterne Agee analyst Tim Rezvan downgraded the rating on

from Buy to Neutral, and removed the $206.00 price target. In the report, Sterne Agee noted, “The sharp divergence between NAV upside and Pioneer's medium-term earnings growth outlook causes us to review our stance on PXD shares. Simply stated, we are not NAV disciples. We believe that at some point, extreme valuations matter for E&P stocks, and that point is now for Pioneer. On an EV/EBITDA basis, PXD shares trade at 11.5x 2014E EBITDA of $2.77 billion, second highest among domestic E&Ps. A ‘best in class' multiple is warranted, but we struggle to see multiple expansion from here.” Pioneer Natural Resources closed on Tuesday at $210.36.