Deutsche Bank Maintains Buy Rating on Marathon Oil

Marathon Oil Corporation MRO splits and starts grey trading June 21, Deutsche Bank reports, adding that the split completes on June 30. “This was the move that everybody felt Marathon had to do,” Deutsche Bank writes. “Strategically it makes perfect sense; but did they pay too much and can they execute? The good news is that by making the move pre-split, the stand-alone upstream now has a story to tell. “Equally with Marathon trading at just 3.5x 2011 EV/EBITDA the market was challenging the company, expecting an acquisition, knowing asset & equity prices for appropriate plays are elevated. They had to pay a lot, at least they bought a premium asset. Execution now becomes the key. Retain BUY into June 30 split.” Marathon Oil Corporation closed Wednesday at $52.65.