Piper Sandler downgraded VLO to "neutral" from "overweight"
Shares of energy firm Valero Energy Corp (NYSE:VLO) are 0.9% lower before the opening bell following a bear note. Piper Sandler, who also downgraded several other oil sector names due to capacity and demand worries, downgraded VLO to "neutral" from "overweight" and reduced its price target to $123 from $169.
In its note, the analyst still called Valero Energy stock "best in class," but said there's "less room for outperformance." Watch out for other covering brokerages to follow suit, as 14 still rate VLO a "strong buy" coming into today, while two say "hold," and one says "strong sell." There's also room for more price-target adjustments to the downside, as the 12-month consensus target price of $162.75 is a 17.4% premium to last night's close.
Valero Energy stock hit an April 5, all-time high of $184.79, but has pulled back 18.9% in the last six months. A late July rally attempt lost steam at the $168 level, and the 30-day moving average moved in as pressure shortly thereafter. Year to date, VLO remains 6.7% higher.
For those looking to place bets on the energy stock's next move, options are affordably priced. This is per the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 30% that stands lower than 20% of readings from the past year.