UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Upgrades Valero Energy on Good Market Position

In a report published Monday, J.P. Morgan analyst Katherine Lucas Minyard upgraded the rating on Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) from Underweight to Neutral, and raised the price target from $34.00 to $44.00.

In the report, J.P. Morgan noted, “We have a Neutral rating on VLO. Overall, we believe VLO is well positioned to continue to benefit from healthy refining margins in the near future as it focuses its efforts on distillates-focused hydrocracking, feedstock optimization, and logistics. However, our year-end 2014 price target for VLO of $44/share implies 7% potential downside at current share price levels, relative to the rest of the group offering more than 20% upside, on average.”

Valero Energy Corporation closed on Friday at $46.58.