UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Lowering Price Target On Cooper Tire & Rubber

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is out with a research report on Cooper Tire & Rubber (NYSE:

) and is lowering its price target to $16 from $30, and it has an Overweight rating on shares. In a note to clients, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. writes, "CTB reported fairly weak 2Q earnings primarily led by a decline in the lower end of the US tire replacement market. While the overall margins fell sequentially (NA margins plunged to 0.6% vs. 3.3% in 1Q), company expects 2H:11 margins to be higher than in 2Q – not too surprising given historical seasonality and CTB's raw material inflation outlook. We revise our EPS estimates to $1.30 in 2011e ($2.50 previously) and $1.40 in 2012e ($2.50 previously), which we believe may have upside depending on the replacement tire demand trending and price/mix vs. raw material performance." Shares of CTB lost $1.13 yesterday to close at $10.83.