UPDATE: Bank of America Downgrades Rockwood Holdings to Neutral, Reiterates $73 PT Waiting for New Catalysts

In a report published Monday, Bank of America analyst Aleksey V. Yefremov downgraded the rating on

from Buy to Neutral, but reiterated the $73.00 price target. In the report, Bank of America noted, “We downgrade ROC from Buy to Neutral after major positive catalysts have played out. ROC shares rose 37% YTD to $68, leaving 7% potential upside to our current PO of $73. We applaud management on a well-executed asset divestment strategy. However, we see the shares currently trading close to fair value, represented by cash on the balance sheet plus the remaining two core businesses: lithium and surface treatment. Our sum-of-the-parts valuation framework assigns dollar-for-dollar value for ROC's cash balance of $2.7bn pro forma for the pending 1H14 sale of TiO2 and Performance Additives to Huntsman. Additional upside to our Rockwood PO will require (1) value-creative acquisitions that are in or close to remaining core businesses or (2) re-acceleration of growth in lithium, which we view as unlikely until 2015 when ROC's lithium expansion in Chile should kick in.” Rockwood Holdings closed on Friday at $67.95.