- Ensco (ESV +6.8%) is upgraded to Buy from Neutral with a $10.50 target price at Goldman Sachs, which says the stock offers an option to investors to participate in upside from a potential sharp rebound in oil prices without taking too much downside risk.
- While offshore drillers face industry headwinds, Goldman believes ESV's balance sheet strength and liquidity allow it to remain relatively better positioned than peers, offering attractive stock upside due to its YTD underperformance.
- ESV also offers exposure to the jack-up market, which the firm sees more positively than the floater market in the near term; limited jack-up exposure was among the reasons Goldman downgraded Diamond Offshore.