Whiting Petroleum Corp. (WLL)

[eFinanceMarkets]

Whiting Petroleum cut to Sell at Goldman, Newfield upgraded

Whiting Petroleum (WLL -8.3%) plunges after Goldman Sachs downgrades shares to Sell from Neutral and cuts its price target to $7.25 from $11.50, saying WLL likely will deliver below-average multiple compression.

Goldman's Brian Singer says 2018 oil futures are in backwardation at or below $50/bbl, and he expects WLL to disappoint investors on volume growth and deleveraging expectations.

Singer also downgrades Hess (HES -3.3%) and Cimarex Energy (XEC -3%) to Neutral from buy on valuation; he also cites a less attractive relative free cash flow profile for HES.

Meanwhile, the firm upgrades Newfield Exploration (NFX -1.3%) to Buy from Neutral, believing the company’s STACK resource and growth potential is underappreciated.