EQT - Equitable Resources Inc. $69.26 +0.26

Sunday's Comment:

Equitable Resources, Inc. got a boost from its addition to the S&P 400 as index funds are required to own the stock after Friday's closing bell. On Friday, shares of EQT traded as low as $67 before bouncing back to close at its intra-day high of $69 on volume of 1.66 million shares. Volume has been abnormally high over the past three sessions due to the S&P 400 addition and we do not expect the heavy volume to continue for much longer. Unfortunately, EQT may suffer a bit next week as short-term traders playing the addition unwind their positions and sell the stock. However, the S&P 400 is not a high-profile index so the effects should not be too severe. We are looking for a split announcement with the April earnings release or out of its next BoD meeting. The company has enough shares for a split and the stock is trading within previous range. Going forward, support has come in at Friday's intra-day low of $67 with stronger support at $66.19, the 10-dma. Resistance is now up to Wednesday's intra-day high of $70.50 and then possibly $72 or $73. A bounce off of $67 or a breakout above $70.50 on midday volume greater than 100,000 shares may be possible entry points. Our stops are holding steady at $63.40.

Monday's Update:

Since reporting its outstanding quarterly results in early February, Equitable's stock has climbed steadily higher. In fact, since bouncing off support near $57 in late February, the stock has climbed over $10 to today's close of $69.26, putting it within $1.24 of its all-time high of $70.50 set on March 28th. More importantly, though, we think that Equitable could continue to climb higher. To that end, both the MACD and On-Balance Volume are displaying strong momentum buy signals. At current levels, Equitable appears to have strong support from its 10-day moving average, which it has been climbing to higher ground since early March. What's more, during this climb, the stock managed to take our formerly stubborn resistance at $65.00. With that said, traders considering a position in Equitable should look for strong volume, 100,000 shares or more traded by noon EST, on a move through the all-time high $70.50 before placing their trades.

Picked on March 27th @ $67.20 Change since picked +2.06 Stop Loss @ $63.40

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