UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Downgrades Golar LNG Partners LP to Equal-Weight, Lowers PT on Strategic Review of Gas Shipping Market

In a report published Thursday, Morgan Stanley analyst Fotis Giannakoulis downgraded the rating on

from Overweight to Equal-Weight, and lowered the price target from $36.00 to $33.00. In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “We are constructive on GMLP, although we see lower upside due to the anticipated difficulty of its parent, GLNG, to secure long-term contracts for its newbuilds during the next 12 months. We are therefore lowering our rating to EW and our PT to $33 from $36 to account for the delays in the dropdowns of GLNG's newbuilds. Our new PT still offers 10-15% total return, including a 6.7% yield.” Golar LNG Partners LP closed on Wednesday at $31.22.