- Whiting Petroleum (WLL +3.9%) pushes higher despite receiving a downgrade from Wells Fargo, with shares already cut in half since reporting a surprise Q2 loss and a big drop in revenues.
- Wells downgrades shares to Market Perform from Outperform with an $11 price target, trimmed from $12, saying WLL's free cash generation potential is highly sensitive to oil price levels.
- At a strip pricing scenario, Wells analyst Gordon Douthat does not model meaningful free cash generation for WLL through 2021, "thereby extending the timeline of its de-levering process in the absence of higher prices."
- WLL's average Sell Side Rating is Outperform and its Seeking Alpha Authors Rating is Bullish, although its Quant Rating is Neutral.