[ET Net News Agency, 6 March 2018] UBS Global Research maintained its target price for
CNOOC (00883) at HK$13.1, but upgraded its rating to "buy" from "neutral" post share price
fall of 15% from the peak in mid-January of this year.
The research house said its investment case for CNOOC has been based on: (1) oil price
leverage; and (2) strong reserves replacement potential which is undervalued by the
market.
UBS believes strong EPS growth and reserve replacement should act as positive catalysts
over the next 1-2 years. However, it flagged near-term risks including weakness in oil
prices (2Q 2018 as non-OPEC production ramps up into seasonally weak demand) and consensus
EPS miss (2H 2017). (KL)