American crude oil and natural gas producer ConocoPhillips (COP) is poised for growth following its acquisition of Marathon Oil Corp (MPC). Shares of COP stock have been rising throughout August after Marathon investors approved the deal. Analysts also believe that COP stock has more room to run after the deal.
Don't Miss our Black Friday Offers:
- Unlock your investing potential with TipRanks Premium - Now At 40% OFF!
- Make smarter investments with weekly expert stock picks from the Smart Investor Newsletter
Since this purchase, two analysts have updated their stances on COP stock. Piper Sandler analyst Ryan Todd maintained a Buy rating for COP, while Barclays analyst Betty Jiang also reiterated a Buy rating for the shares.
Along with that, each of these analysts believes that COP stock has a bright future ahead of it. Todd is expecting the stock’s price to increase 20.81% to $135, while Jiang is predicting a 22.6% increase to $137.
COP Stock Lags Despite Marathon Deal
While those analysts have a positive tune, ConocoPhillips stock was down 1.09% as of Monday morning. Additionally, the stock has fallen 1.03% year-to-date. When looking at its performance over the last 12 months, shares of COP have only seen the slightest increase.
Considering the lack of growth alongside this recent acquisition news, there may be concerns that the price of the Marathon deal is already priced into COP shares. It’s also possible that ConocoPhillips revealing exchange offers for Marathon notes is weighing on the company’s shares today.
Is COP a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for ConocoPhillips is Strong Buy based on 12 Buy ratings and three Hold ratings over the last three months. This comes with an average price target of $133.38, a high of $148, and a low of $115. This represents a potential upside of 20.41% for COP shares. The ratings and price targets may change as more analysts update their coverage of COP stock following the acquisition.
