UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Upgrades Alcoa as Solid Downstream Growth More Than Offsets Weak Upstream

In a report published Monday, Goldman Sachs analyst Sal Tharani upgraded the rating on

from Neutral to Buy, and raised the price target from $8.00 to $11.00. In the report, Goldman Sachs noted, “We upgrade AA to Buy from Neutral, on the back of strong growth from its high-margin downstream business and its continued transition to a mainly downstream business. We see a long-term value opportunity in Alcoa as the market begins to value AA as a leading downstream aluminum producer with an improving cost structure on the upstream, providing upside irrespective of continued weakness in the aluminum market. Downstream growth is expected to be driven by automotive and aerospace. We raise our 6-month P/E-, EV/EBITDA-, and DCF-based price target to $11 from $8 (21% upside) as we roll our target price methodology forward and raise our estimates.” Alcoa closed on Friday at $9.24.