UPDATE: Citigroup Upgrades Freeport-McMoRan

In a note published Monday, Citigroup analyst Brian Yu upgraded shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX) from Sell to Neutral with a $31 price target.

Yu has based his rating on his cautious view for copper pricing, which he said could slow Freeport's ability to delever following the acquisitions of PXP and MMR. However, Yu noted Freeport's management has been "aggressively" selling assets to delever and expects management to adjust its capex spending.

For the third quarter of 2014, Yu is estimating $5.9 billion in revenues, $2.4 in EBITDA and $0.63 in EPS. Looking ahead, he is predicting an EPS of $2.42 in 2014 and $2.60 in 2015.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan were trading up 1.4 percent at $30.76 in the early hours of Monday's trading session.