Viper Energy price target raised to $66 from $65 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler raised the firm’s price target on Viper Energy (VNOM) to $66 from $65 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says the E&P investing environment remains challenging coming out of Q2, marked by a volatile oil price environment with increased geopolitical risk offset by higher OPEC+ supplies, while strong secular gas-demand trends have been offset by stubbornly high supplies and strong inventory builds. The long-term gas demand story, driven by power generation and data center buildout, got a shot in the arm earlier this week on the back of the PA Power and Innovation Summit, with $90B of announcement investment in power and data center buildout, Piper says. The firm prefers more defensive positioning in oil.