UPDATE: Monness Crespi Hardt Reiterates Buy Rating, Raises PT on Methanex Corporation as Management Meeting Confirms Pricing Strength

In a report published Friday, Monness Crespi Hardt analyst Chris Shaw reiterated a Buy rating on

, and raised the price target from $65.00 to $70.00. In the report, Monness Crespi Hardt noted, “We hosted an investor meeting this week with Methanex CEO John Floren and came away with greater confidence that recent pricing trends should continue into 2014. As such we have raised our estimates for both 4Q and for 2014 as we now see the prices increase in 4Q likely to persist throughout 2014, as strong demand should more than offset limited supply increases. In addition, we also believe MEOH could see some upside in volumes for both 4Q and 2103, as gas supplies in both Egypt and Trinidad could be slightly better than expected. We have also raised our price target from $65 to $70 to reflect both our higher earnings estimates but also a higher multiple due to the increased potential for an MLP structure for the Geismar operations. As such we continue to see MEOH as one of the most attractive stories in the sector and reiterate our Buy rating.” Methanex Corporation closed on Thursday at $63.52.