Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) Raised to "Equal Weight" at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Equinor from "underweight" to "equal weight" and set a $40.40 price target, implying roughly a 1.3% upside from the prior close.
• Brokerage coverage remains mixed: one Strong Buy, 11 Holds and 5 Sells produce a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $34.61, creating sell‑side headwinds despite individual upgrades.
• Equinor beat quarterly estimates with $0.81 EPS (vs. $0.60) and $25.3B revenue, and company developments — a 2026 share buyback tranche, a $3 billion lending facility for the Shell‑Equinor JV, and new renewables projects — accompany a ~1.3% intraday stock rise to $39.90.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm currently has a $40.40 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential upside of 1.26% from the stock's previous close.

EQNR has been the topic of a number of other reports. DZ Bank upgraded Equinor ASA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Equinor ASA in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of Equinor ASA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Equinor ASA from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $34.61.

Equinor ASA Trading Up 1.3%

EQNR stock traded up $0.53 on Tuesday, hitting $39.90. 9,254,033 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,245,899. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01 and a beta of 0.35. Equinor ASA has a twelve month low of $21.41 and a twelve month high of $42.06. The business's fifty day moving average is $29.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.82.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.31 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 4.74% and a return on equity of 15.23%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Equinor ASA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in Equinor ASA during the third quarter valued at $730,757,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Equinor ASA by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,759,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,227,000 after buying an additional 3,659,611 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 1,437.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,286,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,741,000 after buying an additional 2,137,642 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Equinor ASA by 113.0% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,787,778 shares of the company's stock worth $44,945,000 after acquiring an additional 948,609 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Equinor ASA during the third quarter worth about $21,366,000. 5.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equinor ASA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Equinor ASA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Equinor expanded the first tranche of its 2026 share buy‑back, raising treasury holdings to 2.51% — supports EPS accretion and reduces float. Equinor ASA: Share buy-back – first tranche for 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Shell‑Equinor JV Adura secured a $3 billion reserve‑based lending facility for UK North Sea operations — improves project financing and lowers execution risk for the JV’s production assets. Shell-Equinor JV Adura secures $3 billion lending facility
• Positive Sentiment: Equinor unveiled the 230 MW Esquina do Vento wind project in Brazil targeting 2028 start — expands renewables pipeline and supports longer‑term decarbonization/growth thesis. EQNR Expands Brazil Footprint With Esquina do Vento Wind Project
• Positive Sentiment: Equinor has started drilling producer and injector wells for the Raia gas project in Brazil and plans further Santos Basin exploration in 2027 — potential near‑term gas production upside. Equinor starts drilling at Brazil's Raia, eyes new Santos Basin exploration in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: UBS issued an upgrade on Equinor — a broker upgrade can spur buying interest from institutional investors. Equinor ASA NYSE: EQNR Upgraded at UBS Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note Equinor is expanding its global energy presence amid industry transitions — useful narrative but less likely to move price immediately. Equinor ASA NYSE: EQNR Expands Global Energy Presence Amid Evolving Industry
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put option buying was observed ( ~5,193 puts), which can signal short‑term bearish positioning or hedging by traders. Unusually large options trading
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst consensus across brokerages currently shows a "Reduce" recommendation — this creates headwinds from sell‑side sentiment even as some banks upgrade. Equinor ASA NYSE: EQNR Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Equinor ASA Company Profile

Equinor ASA NYSE: EQNR is a Norway-based integrated energy company headquartered in Stavanger. Historically established as Statoil in the 1970s to develop Norway's petroleum resources, the company changed its name to Equinor in 2018 to reflect a strategic shift toward a broader energy portfolio. Equinor's operations span the full upstream value chain, including exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, alongside trading and marketing activities that support its global commercial operations.

In recent years Equinor has pursued a transition strategy that combines continued development of conventional oil and gas resources with growing investments in low‑carbon energy.

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