Stifel Nicolaus Upgrades Noble Corporation to Buy (NE)

Stifel Nicolaus is out with its report today on Noble Energy NE, upgrading shares of NE from Hold to Buy.

In a note to clients, Stifel Nicolaus writes, "We are upgrading shares of Noble to Buy from Hold. Our 12-month target price is $53/share, representing approximately 12x our 2012 estimate. While the company's valuation has been favorable for some time in our view, recent contract awards for seven of the company's twelve jackups deployed in Mexico at rates consistent with or slightly better than our expectations, in conjunction with a potentially improving pace of permitting in the Gulf of Mexico, reduce some uncertainty and seem to create an environment that we think is more conducive to favorable catalysts for the company's shares."

At the time of posting, shares of NE were trading pre-market at $43, down 2.60% from Monday's close.