UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Upgrades United Continental

In a report published Thursday, Goldman Sachs analyst Tom Kim upgraded United Continental (NYSE: UAL) from a Hold rating to a Buy rating and raised the price target from $35.00 to $44.00.

In the report, Goldman Sachs says "We upgrade UAL stock to Buy from Neutral. Our investment thesis is based on two factors. (1) The carrier has been an under-earner that we think is poised to post outsized earnings growth in 2014. We expect EPS to almost double in 2014 to $4.87. (2) The stock is undervalued versus its global network peers. UAL trades at 17% discount at 5.0x adjusted EV/EBITDAR (including op leases) vs. 6.0x for its closest global comparables. As investor confidence in UAL's earnings power increases, we expect the discount at which the stock trades versus its peers narrows. There is 19% upside potential to our new 6-month price target of $44 up from $35."

United Continental closed on Thursday at $37.11.