Shares in BP have been on the slide despite crude oil recently reaching record highs, as investors fret about the row going on in Russia between the company and its partners in the TNK/BP joint venture.
The shares have dipped 0.25p to 552p, despite oil climbing $2 to $138 a barrel after news that Iran had test fired missiles which could reach Israel and US bases in the region.
But Dresdner Kleinwort was telling clients today that - while a resolution to the dispute is likely to take some time - any weakness in the shares represents a buying opportunity.
It said: "While we continue to believe that the most likely end game is for BP to take a minority position in TNK-BP with Gazprom or Rosneft holding the balance, this is much less certain now. Should the shareholder protections built into TNK-BP's ownership structure hold, we expect AAR [BP's partner which represents four Russian billionaires] and BP to seek an accommodation that could define the relationship for quite a period. We expect this process to take time. We do not believe BP will lose the value in TNK-BP without compensation.
"Even ex TNK-BP, we believe BP's valuation is attractive and we reiterate our buy recommendation and 675p [target]."
Meanwhile the market is holding most of its gains despite an early dip on Wall Street, with the FTSE 100 up 76.7 points at 5517.2.
The London Stock Exchange is still topping the leaderboard, up 68p to 739p after its better than expected first quarter trading update left bears scurrying to close their short positions.
ITV recovered 3p to 43.1p even though UBS cut its price target from 50p to 28p.
