UPDATE: Bank of America Upgrades Mistras Group

In a report published Tuesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Anna Kaminskaya upgraded Mistras Group MG to Buy from Neutral, raising its price objective from $19.00 to $28.00. According to the report, the upgrade was based upon the analyst's low expectations as MG was the worst performing stock in their coverage and trades at meaningful discount to peers. Also contributing to the upgrade was near-term pick up in refinery turnarounds and longer-term visibility on the US petrochem cycle. “MG's stock was the worst performer of '13 in our multi-industrial coverage universe (only stock to post y/y decline in share price) following several quarters of misses and disappointing guidance driven primarily by execution,” the report said. “MG now trades at a meaningful discount to peers, even as we expect the operations in improve in CY14.” Some highlights from the report included: -Cycle set to improve in ‘14, international activity resumes. -Raising PO to $28, more confidence in execution ahead of Q. MG closed on Monday at $20.81.