J.P. Morgan upgrades Gulfport Energy to 'neutral' from 'underweight'

Gulfport Energy

15/09/2021 16:49

** Shares of natural gas producer  GPOR.N  up as much as
4.93% at $76.64
    ** J.P. Morgan upgrades GPOR to "neutral" from "underweight"
and sets PT at $88 following co's emergence from Chapter 11
bankruptcy filing in May
    ** Brokerage says co emerges with significantly stronger
balance sheet, lower operating costs and new management team
focused on driving down costs and generating sustainable FCF
    ** As of 2Q21, GPOR had ~$830 mln of total debt, which
compares to ~$2.2 bln pre-Chapter 11 - JP
    ** Brokerage says management messaging has indicated GPOR is
open to M&A, which it suspects may be likely path forward for co
    ** Out of four analysts, three rate stock "hold" and one
rates "buy"; their median PT is $88
    ** Gulfport filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November,
hurt by weak crude prices as COVID-19 pandemic crippled fuel
demand last year


 (Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru)
 ((Rithika.Krishna@thomsonreuters.com;))