YPF’s U.S.-listed shares are trading higher as investors reprice legal and headline risk after a U.S. appeals court overturned a $16.1 billion judgment connected to Argentina’s 2012 takeover of YPF. Separately, a Morgan Stanley upgrade and higher price target added incremental support by spotlighting improving cash-flow expectations and continued shale growth momentum.

The Second Circuit’s decision reverses the prior judgment that had required Argentina to compensate former shareholders over tender-offer claims linked to the nationalization, a long-running case that had represented a major uncertainty for the broader Argentina/YPF complex. While the litigation is not necessarily finished, the ruling removes (for now) the most punitive outcome that investors had been discounting into valuations.

Morgan Stanley upgraded YPF and raised its price target, pointing to a more constructive cash-flow outlook and the company’s operational focus in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale play. The upgrade narrative reinforces a market view that YPF’s upstream mix and capital discipline could translate into stronger financial results as export infrastructure and LNG plans progress.

Key swing factors include whether the plaintiffs pursue additional appellate steps, how Argentina frames next legal strategy, and whether any renewed discovery or enforcement efforts emerge. On fundamentals, investors will focus on updates to Vaca Muerta production, capital spending pace, and concrete milestones toward final investment decisions for LNG/export projects that could change medium-term cash generation.