Marathon Petroleum (MPC, $60.07) should be split into 3, says Elliot Management
Marathon Petroleum shares surged Wednesday, following comments from activist investors at Elliott Management that the group should be split into three separate companies.
The independent oil refining company’s 2.5% stake is held by Elliott. Elliot has suggested that Marathon should initiate a separation into three independent entities, in order to unlock more than $22 billion in value for shareholders. Elliot also believes that the separation would boost the company's stock price by more than 60%.
Elliott’s letter asked Marathon to separate its Speedway gas-station chain and its pipeline business into their own companies, while making Marathon’s refining business as the new Marathon.
Marathon agreed to a $23 billion deal last year to acquire rival Andeavor. But Elliot does not approve of the purchase since it believes that Marathon sought another integrated oil refining company at a time when it promised to consider simplifying its business structure.
Back in 2016, when Elliott had first targeted Marathon, the former had insisted on a similar breakup of the company. Eventually it settled on a promise from Marathon to simplify its midstream business and review its Speedway chain of company-owned retail gasoline stores.
Momentum Indicator for MPC turns positive, indicating new upward trend
MPC saw its Momentum Indicator move above the 0 level on April 21, 2025. This is an indication that the stock could be shifting in to a new upward move. Traders may want to consider buying the stock or buying call options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 87 similar instances where the indicator turned positive. In of the 87 cases, the stock moved higher in the following days. The odds of a move higher are at .
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The RSI Indicator points to a transition from a downward trend to an upward trend -- in cases where MPC's RSI Oscillator exited the oversold zone, of 22 resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are .
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for MPC just turned positive on April 22, 2025. Looking at past instances where MPC's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in of 45 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
MPC moved above its 50-day moving average on May 02, 2025 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
The 10-day moving average for MPC crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on May 06, 2025. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In of 17 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where MPC advanced for three days, in of 335 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Bearish Trend Analysis
The Stochastic Oscillator demonstrated that the ticker has stayed in the overbought zone for 11 days. The longer the ticker stays in the overbought zone, the sooner a price pull-back is expected.
MPC broke above its upper Bollinger Band on April 24, 2025. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to outstanding earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating low risk on high returns. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 67, placing this stock better than average.
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating steady price growth. MPC’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating strong sales and a profitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is slightly overvalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (3.018) is normal, around the industry mean (9.385). P/E Ratio (8.650) is within average values for comparable stocks, (25.032). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (0.185) is also within normal values, averaging (0.907). Dividend Yield (0.015) settles around the average of (0.061) among similar stocks. P/S Ratio (0.563) is also within normal values, averaging (0.473).
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General Information
an operator of petroleum product refiners, marketers and transporters
Industry OilRefiningMarketing