[ET Net News Agency, 16 November 2018] Morgan Stanley tweaked its target price for
Sinopec (00386) to HK$7.99 from HK$8.01 and maintained its "overweight" rating.
With a lower crude oil price, Morgan believes there will be less concern about a decline
in refinery margin. The relatively small size of its E&P exposure could also make Sinopec
have less of a negative impact versus CNOOC (00883) and PetroChina (00857).
In a low oil price scenario, Morgan believes investors will pay more attention to
balance sheet quality and yield, where Sinopec is more attractive than CNOOC and
PetroChina.
Morgan added that the potential marketing unit IPO, as announced by Sinopec in April
2017, may bring material one-off revaluation gains and cash flow, with re-rating. It
believes the IPO could take place in 2019. (KL)