Wall Street turns positive on Exxon after a brutal year. Analysts warn it could still get even worse

Wall Street turns positive on Exxon after a brutal year. Analysts warn it could still get even worse

U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil endured a dreadful year by virtually every measure in 2020.The Irving, Texas-based company reported four consecutive quarters of losses, incurred the biggest write-down in its modern history, laid off thousands of employees, saw its market value plunge over 40% and was dropped from the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average.CEO Darren Woods has since said the last 12 months "presented the most challenging market conditions ExxonMobil has ever experienced." It came as the coronavirus pandemic coincided with a historic fuel demand shock and a sharp drop in commodity prices.To weather the storm, Exxon announced in November that it would rein in capital spending for years to come, choosing to prioritize only four investment assets that it believes have the highest potential future value.The new approach, alongside the firm's dramatic underperformance of the broader market for most of the past decade, appears to have been enough to win back Wall Street. Analysts at JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley have all issued positive recommendations for the oil titan in recent weeks. They say now is the time for investors to buy shares of Exxon, with stronger oil and gas prices likely to boost the chances of