UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Upgrades Alpha Natural Resources to Market Perform, Raises PT

In a report published Monday, BMO Capital Markets upgraded its rating on Alpha Natural Resources

from Underperform to Market Perform, and raised its price target from $5.00 to $8.00. BMO Capital noted, “BMO Research is upgrading ANR to Market Perform from Underperform and increasing the target price to US$8 in line with higher estimates. The primary reason for the upgrade is improving met coal fundamentals. Spot pricing for benchmark met coal has rebounded 14% since August due to a combination of global met coal production cuts and better Chinese demand. Central Appalachian thermal coal fundamentals remain very challenging, but higher margins in met coal may more than make up for continued weakness in domestic thermal.” Alpha Natural Resources closed on Friday at $8.00.