Short interest crept up 9% over the past month as MPLX prepares to report Q1 results April 28. Options traders remain neutral while analysts lifted targets, setting up a test of the midstream partnership's growth outlook.
Short interest stood at 7.81 million shares as of April 23, representing 0.77% of the float. That's up 9.2% over the past month and 0.3% higher week-over-week. Days to cover sits at 4.07 based on the April 15 FINRA data. The position remains minimal but has been building steadily through April.
The put-call ratio hit 0.31 on April 24, tracking just above its 20-day mean of 0.30. The z-score of 0.86 signals neutral sentiment. PCR sits in the middle of its 52-week range of 0.18 to 0.70, showing no unusual directional bias heading into the print.
Analysts maintain a mean price target of $60.64, implying modest upside from the current $55.34 close. Goldman Sachs raised its target to $63 from $55 on April 20, maintaining a Buy rating. Barclays lifted its Overweight target to $59 from $55 on April 10. Truist Securities trimmed to $66 from $67 on April 7 but held its Buy. UBS delivered the most bullish call in March, raising to $73 from $64. JP Morgan sits at the low end with a $60 Neutral target. Benzinga's bull case highlights MPLX's "consistently increased distributions, achieving a 12.5% rise for two consecutive years." The bear case warns that "a considerable share of its cash flows is dependent on declining oil and gas reserves."
The EV/EBITDA multiple stands at 10.77, down 0.01 over the past 30 days. P/E contracted to 11.87, down 0.81 over the month as the stock slipped 6.5%. MPLX ranks in the 69th percentile on EPS surprise but only the 10th percentile on 12-month forward EPS growth expectations. Dividend score hits the 99th percentile, reflecting the partnership's distribution track record.
Insiders sold $1.52 million net over the past 90 days, concentrated in early March stock sales by senior executives including CEO Maryann Mannen. Marathon Petroleum holds 63.8% of units. ALPS Advisors added 2 million shares in Q1 to reach 2.6% of outstanding. Harvest Fund Advisors and Tortoise Capital also added to positions recently.
MPLX last reported on February 3. Prior prints occurred in early November and August 2025. The stock has declined 6.5% over the past month leading into this quarter's results.
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