Ahead of the Bell: McDermott International climbs

KeyBanc analyst Tahira Afzal said in a note a meeting last week with company management convinced her that McDermott's "booking prospects and timing is unlikely to be deferred, barring a material global recession."

Afzal, who reiterated her "Buy" rating on the shares, also said the Houston-based company is taking "a more aggressive stance toward gaining market share in the services/maintenance/parts market in North America. We sense that will serve to offset a possibly slower new construction environment on the coal front, which we think is already baked into MDR's current trading levels."

She holds a $60 price target on the shares and estimates 2009 earnings per share at $3.24, 3 cents more than analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect, on average.

Shares rose 64 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $31.15 in premarket trading. In the last 52 weeks the stock has ranged from $27.90 to $67.14.