"If there was ever a stock we can hold for a few years, natural gas company Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) is it," says Ian Wyatt. Here's the latest from his Top Stock Insights.

"Chesapeake Energy is the largest independent natural gas company and most active driller of wells in the US. Its operating activities include the onshore exploration and production of natural gas.

"The Obama administration is keen on achieving energy independence for the US. Natural gas is a good option for energy, since it is inexpensive, clean and domestic. I believe the administration will continue to push natural gas as an alternative to oil, and create incentives for the industry.

The interest in using natural gas as an alternative to crude has helped natural gas-based companies appreciate in value. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) has benefited from that interest, with a gain of more than 20% this year.

CHK is an interesting story in that during the craze in energy prices in 2008, the CEO of the company was forced to liquidate his entire position. That forced selling created an opportunity to buy the stock at an incredibly cheap price, even beyond the artificially low energy prices reached earlier this year.

You have to love OPEC. It's not uncommon for the barons of the giant cartel to voice their interest in seeing oil at such-and-such a price.

Recently, OPEC reiterated its desire to see oil prices at $80 per barrel. This, they claim, is the price needed to spur additional investment in crude projects. Apparently, anything less will result in oil sitting idle in the ground.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) Q1 results beat expectations and raised its guidance.
• Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) shares surged after the it reported strong Q1 earnings.
• Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) just missed swinging to a loss due to to hefty investment losses.
• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) surprised with a net loss in Q1 as revenue and cash flow declined.
• Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) shares fell after it reported disappointing results for the quarter.

The U.S. natural gas market has been slumping of late – with prices trading around $3.50 per million BTUs – but don't be fooled: one hot summer and a recovering U.S. economy will turn that sector around in a hurry. And with this in mind, Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) is worth a look.

Chesapeake concentrates on increasing natural gas reserves via acquisition and field development. CHK has proved reserves of 12 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent, mostly in the mid-continent U.S. region.

Analyst Phil Weiss of Argus Research is none too impressed with the recent debt offering by Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK). The natural gas concern on Wednesday sold $1 billion in six-year notes, with proceeds going toward outstanding indebtedness under CHK's credit facility. The offer was hiked from its initial planned value of $500 million.

Additionally, Chesapeake said it "anticipates reborrowing [under its revolving bank credit facility] from time to time to fund drilling and leasehold acquisition initiatives and for general corporate purposes." It seems the commodity firm is growing steadily more cavalier with its balance sheet -- CHK ended the fiscal year with just $1.75 billion in cash, compared to its December forecast of $2.5 billion.

Back in October, Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) CEO Aubrey McClendon watched his company's stock price tumble along with energy prices -- as a result he faced margin calls and was forced to sell about 94% of his stake in the company.

The stock is still down more than 75% from its 52-week high, but apparently the board of directors' independent compensation committee saw fit to reward McClendon with a new contract that included a one-time $75 million retention payment.

Under this new deal, McClendon will take a salary of $975,000 per year and agrees not to leave for five years.

Normally, I'd be skeptical of a new employment agreement and retention payment to a guy who's stock has lost most of its value. But McClendon's huge stake in the company -- and willingness to borrow money to increase it -- demonstrated tremendous confidence in the company's future and he personally lost about $2 billion when he received those margin calls. The recent decline in energy prices aside, he has a pretty impressive track record and he's worth retaining.

Energy stocks are getting hammered today, thanks in no small part to renewed demand concerns following the Labor Department's gruesome nonfarm payrolls report. Natural-gas concern Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) is blazing the path lower, with the shares hitting a new 5-year low of $9.86 earlier today.

In fact, CHK has been reeling since late November, when the commodity firm filed a shelf registration to issue $2 billion worth of shares in a bid to raise cash. The move sparked anxiety among investors about share dilution, and it also raised questions about Chesapeake's liquidity position. In response to the news, brokerage firm Calyon Securities on Wednesday slashed the stock's rating from Buy to Underperform, and cut its price target from $41 to $15.

Other analysts are concerned, too; Phil Weiss of Argus Research told Reuters today that "the stock could easily go to $2 a share on fear and panic." Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon asserted yesterday that his company is "in excellent position to weather the current difficult economic situation in the U.S.," but it remains to be seen whether this comment will be sufficient to soothe an increasingly emotional market.

Plus, CHK looks highly vulnerable to more downgrades in the near future. Zacks reports a staggering 16 Strong Buy ratings from analysts, along with one Buy, six Holds, and absolutely no Sells. Any further negative notes from brokerage firms could potentially smack the shares deeper into single-digit territory.

Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.

"Oil stocks have been hinting at a rebound; as much as I think that crude oil is oversold, natural gas looks even cheaper," says Charles Payne.

The editor of WStreet Strategies explains, "Natural gas has a propensity to become oversold, and this is one of those instances." Here, the advisor reviews a pair of favorites in the sector.

"Natural gas is at April 2005 levels, the economy will drift but it's not going to roll back to levels of three years ago.

"Moreover, demand should surge as the nation's demands on the electric grid increase exponentially over the next few years. Folks, plug-in cars are going to suck up all the coal and natural gas available, and demand even more.

"In the near-term, I think that the risk/reward has shifted substantially and should trade in a range of $6.50 to $9.50, but at some point soon the bias will shift higher.

"Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) is down big time, and made news for one of the most famous executive margin calls in this current meltdown.

"Although the company's CEO, Aubrey McClendon, was forced to sell over 90% of his holdings he was putting his money where his month was.

While other earnings may have disappointed last week, the news was good for oil giant ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP). In what some took as a good sign for big oil, the Houston-based company reported that third quarter net income surged 41% year over year to $3.39 per share, and that revenue also surged 52% to $70 billion. We'll see whether the good news extends to other petroleum giants scheduled to report quarterly results this week.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are looking for BP (NYSE: BP) profits to have grown 43.2% in the most recent quarter to $2.34 per share on revenue of $109.7 billion, and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) to post earnings up 39.4% to $3.25 per share on revenue of $86.8 billion. Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) likewise are expected to report higher net income of $2.33 per share (sales of $23.4 billion), $2.40 per share (sales of $131.4 billion), and $2.65 per share, respectively. Even Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is expected to post earnings slightly higher to $1.46 per share (sales of $36.4 billion), despite the effects of Hurricane Ike. Among these companies, only BP and Valero beat earnings expectations in the previous quarter. Not surprisingly, analysts on average recommend buying all except Valero, and shares of all of these companies have recently hit 52-week lows.

In a stunning reversal of fortune, Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s (NYSE: CHK) CEO put out a press release after the close of trading on Friday disclosing that he "involuntarily sold substantially all of his shares of Chesapeake common stock over the past three days in order to meet margin loan call."

Aubrey K. McClendon stated that "I am very disappointed to have been required to sell substantially all of my shares of Chesapeake. These involuntary and unexpected sales were precipitated by the extraordinary circumstances of the worldwide financial crisis. In no way do these sales reflect my view of the company's financial position or my view of Chesapeake's future performance potential. I have been the company's largest individual shareholder for the past three years and frequently purchased additional shares of stock on margin as an expression of my complete confidence in the value of the company's strategy and assets. My confidence in Chesapeake remains undiminished, and I look forward to rebuilding my ownership position in the company in the months and years ahead."

Read the Form 4 here. It's a little bit sad to watch this happen. McClendon's stake in Chesapeake landed him at number 134 on the 2008 Forbes list, He is also a part owner of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder.

It's now clear what one major driver of the sell-off in the company's shares this week was -- it may have presented a buying opportunity and, while it's sad to see someone wiped out, this aggressive insider buys with borrowed funds indicate strong confidence in the company.

"Mainland Resources (NASDAQ: MNLU), a small natural gas play, could be a giant in the space in a short period of time," says Charles Payne.

In his WStreet Market Commentary, he explains, " The company involved in the super exciting Haynesville shale region, which could be one of the largest domestic on shore natural gas fields ever."

"The stock has been coming on lately as more investors learn about the company's potential in the Haynesville shale region.

"Discovered in March of this year, the Haynesville field -- according to Energy and Capital -- could conservatively hold 168 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) has declared Haynesville the most important find in its 19 year history.

"There was always a notion that a big find was in the space that the company currently owns (2,700 acres), but when it was first explored back in the 1950 crude oil prices were much lower and there was no technology to get to the natural gas.

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) closed at $45.25 Monday. Natural Gas futures are recently down 2.25% to $8.53 according to Bloomberg. BMO Capital Markets has a $68 target price on CHK. CHK September option implied volatility of 61 is above its 26-week average of 42 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD), a commodity-based exchange traded security, closed at $86.84. Gold is recently trading down 1.70% to $892.50. GLD option volume was heavy on August 4, 2008 with 106,112 contracts trading. GLD over all option implied volatility of 25 is near its 9-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYSE: RIO) will report Q2 EPS on August 6. RIO, a Brazilian mineral company, closed at $26.36. Goldman has a Buy rating on RIO. RIO option volume was heavy on August 4, 2008, with 237,545 contracts trading. RIO August option implied volatility is at 66, September is at 56; above its 26-week average of 49 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) shares are trading higher today as crude oil futures have set another record high on continued tension in Iran and Nigeria as well as the weakening dollar. Natural gas futures are also rising with oil. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on CHK.

After hitting a one-year low of $31.38 in August, the stock hit a one-year high of $74.00 last week. CHK opened this morning at $63.48. So far today the stock has hit a low of $63.19 and a high of $65.97. As of 12:15, CHK is trading at $63.77, up $2.19 (3.5%). The chart for CHK looks bullish but deteriorating slightly, while S&P gives the stock a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an August bull-put credit spread below the $50 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 8.7% return in just five weeks as long as CHK is above $50 at August expiration. Chesapeake would have to fall by more than 21% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

CHK hasn't been below $50 since April and has shown support around $55 recently. This trade could be risky if the price of oil moderates, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the support the stock might find around $50 where it bottomed in early June.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in CHK.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of properties for the production of natural gas and crude oil. The firm is the second-largest independent producer and third-largest overall producer of natural gas in the United States. Company properties are located in the US midcontinent region, along the Gulf Coast, in the Permian Basin, and in the Ark-La-Tex region. It owns interests in nearly 39,000 producing wells and has nearly eleven trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved reserves.

Chesapeake pleased investors last week, when it announced that it had formed a joint venture with Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE: GDP) that would give it working interests in deep strata of the Haynesville Shale of East Texas and Louisiana. The move is expected to make Chesapeake the largest U.S. natural-gas producer, pushing it past BP (NYSE: BP) and Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC).