On July 13, Valero Energy rose 3.43% in regular trading, trading at $293.56/share, with turnover of $64.23 million. The rally was driven by BMO Capital raising its price target on the stock from $290 to $310 while maintaining an Outperform rating.

The upgrade is part of a broader wave of institutional bullishness. Jefferies recently maintained a Buy rating with a target of $312, Goldman Sachs raised its target to $286, and the FactSet consensus mean target has risen to $278.88. The stock currently trades above the average analyst target, reflecting strong momentum ahead of its July 30 earnings report, where the market expects EPS of $9.81.

Valero's Q1 results significantly exceeded expectations, with EPS of $4.22 beating consensus by 33.5% and representing a dramatic turnaround from a year-ago loss. The broader refining sector also showed strength, with PBF Energy up 6.96%, HF Sinclair up 4.43%, Marathon Petroleum up 4.28%, and Phillips 66 up 4.15%.

(The above content is based on publicly available market information, generated by a program or algorithm, and is intended solely as a stock movement alert. It does not constitute investment advice or a basis for trading decisions.)