Desjardins upgrades Vermilion to Buy on U.S. asset sale

Desjardins upgraded Vermilion Energy (VET) to Buy from Hold with a price target of C$11.50, up from C$11, after the company entered into an agreement for the sale of its U.S. assets for $120M. The stock’s valuation remains “highly attractive in view of a largely derisked balance sheet and a natural gas-weighted production base,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that even though Vermilion may not have received “top dollar” for the U.S. assets, the sale is positive because it continued strengthening the company’s balance sheet.