UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Upgrades Whiting Petroleum to Outperform on Valuation Upside

BMO Capital Markets upgraded Whiting Petroleum WLL from Market Perform to Outperform and raises the price target from $50.00 to $60.00. BMO Capital Markets commented, "Whiting is one of the more polarizing E&P stories in which there is much debate and disagreement around the company's outlook primarily in terms of inventory and growth potential. We took an in-depth look at the main bull and bear cases for Whiting and have concluded that the outlook for the company is more positive than most believe. … Based on our analysis of its growth outlook, we believe WLL shares have upside on a valuation basis and currently trade at a ~2-3x P/CF and EV/EBITDA multiple discount to peers and at a discount to our $54 after-tax NYMEX NAV." Whiting Petroleum closed at $49.31 on Wednesday.