The recent Northern White Sand spot pricing strength should reverse in the second half of 2019 as exploration and production spending edges lower in back half of the year, logistics bottlenecks ease, and more in-basin mines start up, Jefferies analyst Saurabh Pant tells investors in a research note. He sees total effective utilization remaining at ~50% and earnings "remaining flattish" into 2020. As such, he stays negative on frac sand and reiterates Underperform ratings on pure plays Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP) and Smart Sand (SND) as well as Hold ratings on the more diversified U.S. Silica Holdings (SLCA) and Covia (CVIA). "We watch for active short opportunities to emerge through" Q2, says Pant. The analyst, however, raised his price target for Covia to $6 from $4, for Hi-Crush to $3.50 from $2.50, for Smart Sand to $3.50 from $2, and for U.S. Silica to $18 from $15.