Morgan Stanley analyst Joe Laetsch raised the firm's price target on Valero Energy Corporation from $255 to $411 on September 14, maintaining an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The revised target implies upside of almost 4% from current levels and exceeds the stock's all-time high of just under $400 per share. Valero has rallied more than 140% since the beginning of 2026, helped by a sharp surge in global refining margins as disruptions cut worldwide refining capacity and tightened supplies of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The company posted its highest-ever second-quarter profit and returned $2.6 billion to shareholders in the quarter, up from $695 million a year earlier, while TD Cowen's Jason Gabelman expects Valero to repurchase about 20% of its market value between the third quarter and the end of next year. Valero's $230 million FCC unit optimization project at its St. Charles Refinery is expected to be completed in the third quarter. The main risk is that the unusually high second-quarter profits stemmed from extraordinary market conditions that may already be reflected in the valuation, so even a modest decline in global refining margins could trigger a sharp pullback.
Valero Energy CorporationMorgan Stanley lifted Valero's price target to $411 from $255, implying further upside.
Morgan StanleyMorgan Stanley's analyst raised Valero's price target, an analyst-valuation action by the firm, but the news is about Valero not Morgan Stanley's own business.
