Santos (ASX:STO) ended the June quarter with a more positive near-term outlook after resolving several challenges that impacted production and free cash flow, Jarden said in a late Thursday note.

Commissioning issues at the company's Barossa operations in the Timor Sea, which dragged production and sales revenue, appear to be mostly addressed, while the Pikka project in Alaska is on track to hit plateau rates by the end of the current quarter, the equity research firm said.

The company's June quarter production of 23.1 million barrels of oil equivalent came in 1% ahead of Jarden's forecast, but its sales revenue of about $1.35 billion was 5% below Jarden's estimate due to underlifted volumes in Papua New Guinea and a miss in realized liquefied natural gas price.

Santos also downgraded its full-year production outlook by 3.8% at the midpoint to a range of 99 to 105 million barrels of oil equivalent. Jarden said that while it expected the cut, Barossa is now producing at 97% of "planned rates," suggesting a resolution of its performance issues.

The investment firm expects Santos to benefit from its exposure to oil and LNG prices as the Middle East conflict continues to flow into higher commodity prices, although the lag effect means the true benefits won't be seen until the second half of the year.

Jarden maintained an overweight rating on Santos while raising the target price to AU$7.90 from AU$7.65.

The company's shares gained 2% in recent Friday trade.