ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target Raised to $149.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on ConocoPhillips to $149 (from $108) and maintained an "overweight" rating, implying roughly an 18% upside from the current price.
• The stock holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average analyst target of $132.44 after multiple firms raised their objectives (e.g., Capital One to $156, Scotiabank to $125, Bernstein to $121).
• Significant insider selling: CEO Ryan Lance sold 506,800 shares in March, and insiders have sold 734,891 shares (≈$93.3M) over the last 90 days, leaving insiders with just 0.09% ownership.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $149.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the energy producer's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.36% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Capital One Financial boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $132.44.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.3%

COP stock traded up $1.57 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.89. 455,425 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,517,778. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $84.28 and a 1 year high of $135.87. The firm's 50 day moving average is $121.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.90. The stock has a market cap of $153.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total value of $64,495,368.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 6,835 shares in the company, valued at $869,822.10. This represents a 98.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,689.92. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Unison Advisors LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 17,886 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Shelton Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,279,000. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,060,000. Cypress Capital LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Finally, Arbor Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips NYSE: COP is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company's activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.

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