Rosetta Resources (ROSE) stock propels higher on upbeat numbers and upgrades

Rosetta Resources Inc. (Nasdaq: ROSE) shares advanced 19.7% to $49.20, after several analysts upgraded shares of the oil and natural-gas company. Volume for the stock topped 3.1 million shares Monday, or nearly five times its daily average.

Investment firm Cannacord Genuity was particularly bullish and placed a $53 price target on the stock, which represents about a 30% premium to its Friday closing price. On Friday, the Houston-based Rosetta announced, for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, net income of $11.0 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, versus a net income of $7.3 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, for the same period in 2010. These results include a $1.8 million after tax gain related to the settlement of hedges associated with the divested DJ Basin property.

Revenues for the first quarter of 2011 were $97.1 million compared to $70.1 million for the same period in 2010. Compared to a year ago, higher product revenues from oil and liquids were partially offset by lower gas revenues.

Said CEO Randy Limbacher, “the first quarter of 2011 delivered strong results led by continued success in our Eagle Ford shale play. We have continued to shift our production base to a more balanced portfolio weighted towards liquids and are reaping the benefits of a lower operating cost structure.
“We successfully completed our asset divestiture program and the proceeds will provide additional flexibility to execute our growth plans. Rosetta entered 2011 a streamlined and more focused company that is positioned to deliver double-digit growth into the future.”

Rosetta Resources Inc. is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition and development of onshore energy resources in North America. The Company’s activities are primarily located in South Texas, including its largest producing region in the Eagle Ford shale and in the Southern Alberta Basin in northwest Montana.

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 9th, 2011 at 3:37 pm by Glenn and is filed under Energy Stocks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.