Goldman Sachs readjusted ratings on several E&P stocks this week based on updated projections for OPEC productivity, shale efficiency, project startups and oil and gas prices.

Overall, Goldman maintains a Neutral rating on the E&P space.

Upgrades To Buy

Goldman prefers E&Ps with strong balance sheets and exposure to shale efficiency trends. Based on these two points, Goldman upgraded Continental Resources Inc CLR 0.35% and Newfield Exploration Co NFX 1.16% from Neutral to Buy.

In addition to the upgrades to Buy, Goldman upgraded Laredo Petroleum Inc LPI 2.98% from Sell to Neutral based on its “improving Permian asset base” and strong operational execution.

Downgrades To Neutral

Goldman also chose to drop a handful of previously Buy-rated E&Ps down…

Read the rest of this article (and all my other articles) for free on Benzinga by clicking here

Want to learn more about how to profit off the stock market? Or maybe you just want to be able to look sophisticated in front of your coworkers when they ask you what you are reading on your Kindle, and you’d prefer to tell them “Oh, I’m just reading a book about stock market analysis,” rather than the usual “Oh, I’m just looking at pics of my ex-girlfriend on Facebook.” For these reasons and more, check out my book, Beating Wall Street with Common Sense. I don’t have a degree in finance; I have a degree in neuroscience. You don’t have to predict what stocks will do if you can predict what traders will do and be one step ahead of them. I made a 400% return in the stock market over five years using only basic principles of psychology and common sense. Beating Wall Street with Common Sense is now available on Amazon, and tradingcommonsense.com is always available on your local internet!