I first wrote about Schlumberger (SLB) here on May 6, 2009, at a price of $56.09. Shares of oil and natural gas servicer have jet-streamed toward major, psychological resistance at $100, easily clearing $90 on the way. It goes without saying that if you haven't already, now would be a good time to consider taking some profits off the table.

However, those investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position and go for an even bigger gain, as SLB will likely continue to head north.

Further, I'd raise the sell/stop loss to $68 from $63.

Continue reading Schlumberger Vectors Toward $100 a Share

Schlumberger Vectors Toward $100 a Share originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Mar 2011 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ensco: A Ben Graham Value in Drilling

Ensco: A Ben Graham Value in Drilling originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The editor of Validea explains, "Atwood Oceanics (ATW), a Houston-based offshore oil drilling firm, gets strong interest from both my Benjamin Graham- and Peter Lynch-inspired strategie.

"With a $2.4 billion market cap. Atwood has been a big winner for one of my most stringent -- and most successful -- strategies, the model I base on the writings of the late Benjamin Graham.

Continue reading Atwood Oceanics (ATW): 'Under the Radar'

Atwood Oceanics (ATW): 'Under the Radar' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are the next four of my 2011 picks. I am behind schedule, after publishing the first 5 earlier in the week (see: Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 5 of 11). This year instead of starting completely anew, I am adjusting my 2010 picks. There is no sense in abandoning good ideas just because the calendar turned a page.

You will actually find support of running themes I have been writing about over the past few months. One of these is the idea of making a contrarian investment in a basket of stocks that have been both scalded and scolded in the headlines. Six stocks were included in such a group that I called the "toxic stocks" (see: Chasing Value: Toxic Stock Update #3 -- BAC, BP, C, GE, GS, RIG).

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 6, 7, 8, 9

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 6, 7, 8, 9 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Noble Corp.'s Meaningless Downgrade

Chasing Value: Noble Corp.'s Meaningless Downgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Hornbeck Offshore: Stopped-Out for Loss

Hornbeck Offshore: Stopped-Out for Loss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week's Barron's (Sept. 6) was full of great stock insights and the favorable reports on Noble Corp. (NE) and Raytheon Company (RTN) were well articulated. Often you hear that by the time the news hits the streets, it's too late to get in on the bargain. This is a myth; both of these stocks are good examples proving the point because they were bargains before the stories were published and remain so today.

This is not to say that a broadly published story will not have an impact on the stock price -- it may. However, there is not a one to one correlation and there are many other factors to weigh. Also, given the number of financial publications, blogs, press releases, analysts calls and more, almost every company's stock is in the news, if not daily then weekly.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Barron's Is Right About Noble, Raytheon, but Forget About Its Market Strategists

Chasing Value: Barron's Is Right About Noble, Raytheon, but Forget About Its Market Strategists originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Time to Consider Shorting Halliburton?

Time to Consider Shorting Halliburton? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 May 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Oil Spill: Too Many Unknowns for Investors

Oil Spill: Too Many Unknowns for Investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Transocean Runs Deep

Chasing Value: Transocean Runs Deep originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Obama 'Smurfs' Offshore Drilling from Republicans

Obama 'Smurfs' Offshore Drilling from Republicans originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Drill, baby, drill was the calling card of the Republican Party during the last presidential election.

With high oil prices and rising demand, finding new sources of oil is imperative. Given environmental concerns, offshore drilling is one space that still offers meaningful potential to increase domestic supply.

Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE: DO) operates some 45 deep water rigs that are keeping extraordinarily busy with oil prices on the rise.

Continue reading Oil stock #3: Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO)

Oil stock #3: Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

"One stock that could get a November bounce should McCain win is seismic firm CGG Veritas (NYSE: CGV); the Republican mantra has been 'drill, drill, drill' and this company helps find out where to do that," says Bill Martin in his BullMarket.com.

"If McCain wins office and is able to get Congress to pass his drilling initiatives for offshore drilling (one stronger than the bill that was just recently passed by Congress), the first step will be to find where exactly this oil is located.

"That is where French seismic company CGG Veritas comes in. It calls itself 'the world's leading international pure-play geophysical company.' The company was born in January of 2007 as the result of a merger of the former Compagnie Générale de Géophysique and Veritas DGC.

"The company provides seismic data and services to the oil and gas industry, and manufactures seismic equipment through its Sercel subsidiary for sale to other seismic companies.

"The company conducts seismic surveys on a contract and multi-client basis. The job entails acquiring, processing, and interpreting land and marine seismic data, and producing images of the subsurface in multi-dimensional and multi-component formats.

"Those pictures are used to identify new oil and gas structures and manage existing reservoirs. It also has up to 40 land-based teams that can be put in the field and can work in a variety of terrain.

"With CGG Veritas's stock beaten down -- despite solid earnings and guidance -- and trading at an attractive valuation, a McCain win could be the cure to its recent ills."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

McCain stock: Seismic firm CGG Veritas (CGV) shows where to 'drill, drill, drill' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Crude oil remains deeply oversold on an intermediate-term basis, suggesting a rally sometime in the early fall," says Dennis Slothower.

The editor of Stealth Stocks looks to Petroleo Brasileiro SA (NYSE: PBR) as his latest "stock of the month." Here's his review of the Brazilian firm that is now the world's 8th-largest oil company.

"The founding of Petrobras was authorized in October 1953, with the objective of executing, on behalf of the federal government, the activities of the oil sector in Brazil.

"Over the past five decades or so, the company has become the country's leader in the distribution of oil products, an activity not covered by the government monopoly, and today it is internationally acknowledged as the eighth-largest oil company in the world.

"Leading the sector in the development of one of the most advanced deepwater and ultra-deepwater technologies for oil production, PBR was twice (in 1992 and 2001) awarded the Offshore Technology Company (OTC) prize, the most important award in the sector.

Continue reading Brazilian drilling with Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR)

Brazilian drilling with Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We are moving headlong into oil," notes John Reese, who analyzes stocks based on the criteria used by "legendary" investors such as Buffett, Graham and Lynch.

In his Validea newsletter, he says, "My fundamental models indicate that the oil industry is where the best values in the market are." Here's a look at W&T Offshore (NYSE: WTI), which is based on the criteria used by contrarian David Dreman.

"The economy and stock market have gone through a legitimate crisis because of the credit woes, and it takes time for something like that to work itself out.

"But the important thing to remember is that we've been through financial crises before -- even bad-debt financial crises like this one -- and the market has always stabilized and then pushed higher.

"And history has shown that those who can stick with the stock market through down times like these will be rewarded.

"David Dreman -- one of the gurus I base my strategies on -- notes in his recent Forbes column, 'If you pack up now, chances are you'll miss a good part of the next bull market. A large part of the gains are always made in the first few months of one, when market-timing investors are still on the sidelines.'

Continue reading W&T Offshore (WTI): Drilling with David Dreman

W&T Offshore (WTI): Drilling with David Dreman originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's time to start drilling for oil and natural gas offshore on the east and west coasts. We are wasting our time and our money, and risking our future by not doing so. The energy needs of the United States have made oil our number one import and the biggest factor in our imbalance of trade.

It is not just that oil holds us hostage to the rest of the world. This imbalance of trade means we cannot support ourselves and must borrow from others to get by, and I, for one, have a very hard time with that notion. I prefer independence -- remember that? I think it was an important concept in our founding, way back when.

The imbalance in trade is a mortgage against the future of our children and it is getting worse year after year. The money often goes to foreign governments whose interests are not aligned with ours and they hold us politically and economically captive. Nothing is more shameful than President Bush pleading with Saudi Monarchs to pump more oil.

Continue reading Start drilling offshore: ATW, DO, ESV, HERO, NE, PDE, RDC, RIG

Start drilling offshore: ATW, DO, ESV, HERO, NE, PDE, RDC, RIG originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Transocean's most opportune oil equipment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Leo Fasciocco is a technical specialist who focuses on finding breakout buys -- stocks that have broken out from their trading bases and are poised, in his view, to move higher.

In his Ticker Tape Digest he has isolated two intriguing energy plays: Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) searches for energy below the sea, while solar firm Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) looks skyward.

The advisor explains, "Diamond Offshore has 30 semisubmersibles, 13 jack-up rigs (mobile drilling platforms), and one drillship. They operate around the world. The company contracts with major oil and gas companies.

"DO's profit outlook is excellent and should be the driver to send the stock higher. Technically, the stock's long-term chart shows a powerful bull market. It has soared from 20 to 113 the past three years, riding the rising price of crude oil.

Continue reading Best energy ideas: Under the sea and up in the sky

Best energy ideas: Under the sea and up in the sky originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 20 Oct 2007 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.