Natural Gas: As Buyout Talks Swirl Around Chesapeake Carl Icahn Prays Its Not A Takeunder (CHK)

The last time I looked Mr. Icahn still held the stock he'd been accumulating since 2012, 73 million shares with the bulk at $23 so most any bid would be under his average price.

On the other hand, with 10.98% of the outstanding he may have something to say about any corporate doings.

The stock is up 5.66% to $8.84 on what looks like a reaction to this piece, or it might just be the 2% move in natural gas today, to $2.832.

From Barron's Stocks to Watch:

Chesapeake Energy: ‘We Would Not Be Surprised to See an Entire Company Sale’

SunTrust Robinson Humprey’s Neal Dingmann and team upgraded Chesapeake Energy (CHK) to Buy from Neutral today, in part, because they see the potential for a sale of the struggling oil & gas company. They explain:

Chesapeake shares have fallen 48% since May as lower commodity prices along with relatively wide differentials have caused further liquidity/leverage concerns. However, we would not be surprised to see another asset sale with one or two of the company’s seven primary operating regions. Though we do not look at the nearly $7B in liquidity as an issue considering we have a projected outspend of less than $1.5B this year (even a much larger outspend would not provide any challenges), investors remain concerned in the current commodity environment. It appears

Chesapeake’s operating efficiencies are getting buried in the current troubled commodity environment even though EURs such as in the Utica have recently increased over 20%…MORE