Wall Street Analysts Line Up Behind a Refiner Breakout

A cluster of bullish refiner calls hit the wires around the September 20 session. UBS said Marathon Petroleum (MPC) could smash its all-time high, while Morgan Stanley separately argued the stock is breaking into new highs. Morgan Stanley also said it sees more fuel for Valero's (VLO) rally, and UBS said Phillips 66 (PSX) is set to blaze past its record high. The pattern across three separate calls from two banks points to a shared view that refining margins have room to keep expanding, even as broader equity strategists such as Wells Fargo turn more cautious on the index as a whole. Refiners tend to benefit when fuel demand and crack spreads hold up, a dynamic separate from the direction of oil prices themselves. What is unresolved is whether this reflects a sector-wide re-rating or three analysts converging independently on similar names. None of the notes cited a specific price target figure that was disclosed in the wires reviewed.