Against the backdrop of high oil prices, Western Petroleum (OXY.US) focuses on capital efficiency and cash flow. Goldman Sachs raises its target price to $64.

Financial APP learned that Occidental Petroleum (OXY.US) fell 0.07% in regular trading on Thursday, May 21, closing at $59. It is worth noting that the stock had risen by about 10% in the eight trading days from May 11 to 19, so Thursday's slight pullback is more likely a normal digestion of previous gains. On the same day, Goldman Sachs analyst Neil Mehta upgraded Occidental Petroleum's rating from "sell" directly to "neutral", raising the target price from $57 to $64, just a step away from the average target price of $65 by 25 analysts compiled by FactSet. The leap from "sell" to "neutral" signifies a substantial shift in Goldman's view of the stock. What drove this change was not a surge in oil prices or major oil discoveries, but a textbook-level strategic contraction, as the company shifts its focus to cash flow.