HSBC upgrades BP to Hold on higher oil prices

HSBC upgraded BP (BP) to Hold from Reduce with a price target of $45.30, up from $35.10. BP screens as the “highest-beta play” on sustained elevated oil prices among the large-cap European majors, with leverage to both the price environment and the deleveraging story, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the Middle East conflict and the associated oil price spike have altered BP’s short-term financial trajectory in ways that address some of its concerns in its February downgrade to Reduce.