Friday, June 3, 2011

MarkWest (MWE) Price Target Boosted as Natural Gas Reaches 10-Month High

Shares of MarkWest Energy Partners (NYSE: MWE) rose on the heels of its price target being raised by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and natural gas prices surging to a 10-month high.

The price of natural gas rose after the amount of fuel in storage was lower than expected, according to data released by the Department of Energy.

Most of this came from the shutting down of nuclear power plants for maintenance, which generated larger demand for electricity powered by natural gas, dipping into supply as the first big heat wave of the summer hit several regions of the U.S.

Natural gas futures settled at $4.794 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining 16.5 cents, or 3.6 percent.

So far in 2011 natural gas has risen 8.8 percent, while crude oil is up 9.9 percent.

Expectations are natural gas demand will remain strong for the next couple of weeks based on hot weather predictions.

Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MarkWest Energy Partners to $52.00

MarkWest closed Thursday at $47.43, up $0.28, or 0.59 percent.

No comments: