Morgan Stanley Boosts ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $149.00

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $149.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the energy producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.24% from the company’s current price.

COP has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “hold” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.16.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE COP opened at $133.94 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $79.88 and a 12 month high of $134.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $112.57 and a 200-day moving average of $99.13. The company has a market cap of $165.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The business’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 2,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $317,630.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,663 shares in the company, valued at $677,747.84. The trade was a 31.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total value of $64,495,368.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,835 shares in the company, valued at $869,822.10. The trade was a 98.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 621,670 shares of company stock valued at $78,320,133. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $149 and moved COP to “overweight,” supporting further upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts’ fair‑value updates lifted ConocoPhillips’ estimate (to ~$128.29 in one note), reflecting higher medium‑term oil price assumptions that justify stronger EPS/valuation scenarios. COP investment story shifting (Yahoo)
• Positive Sentiment: COP recently hit a 52‑week high, signaling momentum and investor appetite for large independent E&P names. 52‑week high (Investing.com)
• Positive Sentiment: Higher oil prices (Brent above ~$95) are a sector tailwind for upstream producers like ConocoPhillips, boosting cash flow sensitivity to commodity strength. Oil >$95 sector note (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Options desks flag COP as a covered‑call candidate given elevated prices and implied volatility — indicates some investors prefer income harvesting over outright bullish exposure. Covered‑call interest (Barchart)
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist initiated coverage (new analyst attention); some houses remain cautious or have wide target ranges, so consensus expectations are mixed and valuation dispersion remains high. Truist initiation (American Banking News)
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling was disclosed this week (including SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose and reports of larger executive sales); heavy insider dispositions can raise short‑term investor caution about near‑term allocation. Insider sales disclosure (InsiderTrades)
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/operational risk: ConocoPhillips has sought U.S. protection around Qatari energy assets after regional strikes — evacuations and security actions add near‑term operational uncertainty for LNG and related projects. Qatar protection request (Yahoo)

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.