Phillips 66' stock soars 6% after Elliott Management discloses $1 billion stake and says it sees 75% upside

Phillips 66's stock (PSX) rose 6% in premarket trade Wednesday, after Elliott Investment Management LP said it has accrued a roughly $1 billion investment in the energy company and sees potential upside of about 75%. The hedge fund of activist investor Paul Singer published a letter to the company's management outlining how it can remedy what it views as underperformance, including adding new directors backed by Elliott. While the company's 2025 targets are "admirable," investors "are skeptical of the company's ability to achieve them. said the fund. "At present, we believe Mr. Lashier and the rest of the management team deserve investor support so long as they demonstrate meaningful progress against these targets. At the same time, we find the market's skepticism to be understandable, and we believe the Board must take several steps to reassure investors that Phillips 66 is in the best possible position to achieve its value-creation potential." Phillips 66, which is headed by CEO Mark Lashier, was spun out of ConocoPhillips in 2012. The stock has gained 13% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 18.6%.

-Ciara Linnane

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-29-23 0829ET

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.