Morgan Stanley Maintains on Cliffs Natural Resources

In a report published Thursday, Morgan Stanley analyst Evan Kurtz maintained Underweight on Cliffs Natural Resources CLF, lowering its price target to $14.00 from $12.00. According to the report, CLF should announce a decision on the future of Bloom Lake with 4Q13 results. “We examine 5 scenarios: 1) Cliffs moves forward with Phase II, with a new partner helping to fund capex; 2) Phase II proceeds without a new partner; 3) all Bloom Lake operations are halted; 4) Cliffs continues to operate only Phase I; 5) Cliffs seeks bankruptcy protection for the Canadian subsidiary, which we view as highly unlikely. Inside, we review each scenario and provide NPV sensitivities, where applicable,” the report noted. Some highlights from the report included: -Expectations may be too bullish -Investors may be overlooking the impact of rising freight rates on Bloom Lake price realizations CLF closed Wednesday at $21.19.