PSXP - Phillips 66 Partners likely to be taken private Mizuho says in downgrade

Phillips 66 Partners ([[PSXP]] +2.4%) extends yesterday's gains after Phillips 66 ([[PSX]] -2%) said in a filing that it may seek a merger or other transaction including take-private deals for its MLP partner.PSXP is downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $27 price target, cut from $32, at Mizuho, where analyst Gabe Moreen says the filing suggests Phillips 66 is "preparing to take PSXP private ex-DAPL and thereby limits the upside to PSXP units in anything but a 'best-case' litigation outcome."Citi's Ryan Levine says Phillips 66 is seeking to "express a view on the DAPL decision, [and] buying some of the PSXP units and then merging PSXP and PSX would be a logical way to do so. In our conversations with management, this option is normally dismissed but DAPL might change the commercial logic."The double whammy of a Dakota Access Pipeline shutdown and the ensuing distribution cut likely would send

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Phillips 66 Partners likely to be taken private, Mizuho says in downgrade