UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Upgrades Marathon Petroleum on Stronger Upside Potential

In a report published Monday, J.P. Morgan analyst Katherine Lucas Minyard upgraded the rating on Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) from Underweight to Neutral, and raised the price target from $67.00 to $81.00.

In the report, J.P. Morgan noted, “We have a Neutral rating on MPC. Although MPC's strong cash returns, via both buybacks and dividends, add appeal to the MPC story and the RINs-related headwind is largely behind us, we believe MPC's relatively fairly-valued shares may keep some capital on the sidelines. With our price target of $81/share suggesting 7% potential downside to current share price levels, we find stronger upside potential for share price appreciation in other refiners in the company's peer group.”

Marathon Petroleum Corp. closed on Friday at $87.20.