EQT is an integrated energy company, with emphasis on Appalachian area natural gas-supply, natural-gas transmission and distribution, and energy-management services for customers throughout the U.S. For the FY ended12/00, revenues rose 59% to $1.65B. Net income rose 54% to $106.2M. Revenues reflect the acquisition of Statoil%s Appalachian properties & higher effective commodity prices. Earnings were partially offset by higher maintenance costs.

March 27, 2001

Equitable Resources supplies and distributes natural gas in the Appalachian region. The company also provides energy-management services throughout the United States. Shares of EQT ran into major resistance in October after two years of solid performance. Since then, EQT has been stuck in the $56-$66 range. On Tuesday, the stock broke out to an all-time high of $67.75 and closed above $66 following six failed attempts in the past two weeks. After five months of consolidation, we believe that EQT could make a substantial move upward as we move closer to earnings season. We are also looking for a possible stock split with EQT’s April earnings release or out of its Annual Shareholder meeting on May 17th. The company currently has enough shares for a split with 80 million shares authorized and 37.26 million shares outstanding and the stock is trading within historic split range. EQT announced a 3:2 split in 1993 when the stock was trading in the $35-$40 range. Going forward, EQT has support at Tuesday’s intra-day low of $65.87 with stronger support at $64.70, Monday’s intra-day low. There is resistance at $67.75 and then the $70 mark. The stock is being added to the S&P Midcap 400 after Friday’s close. The news was announced after the bell on Tuesday so we may see a bit of a pop on Wednesday and a bit of sell-off next week. Traders may consider starting new plays on a bounce off of $65.87 or a breakout above $67.75 on volume greater than 80,000 shares by noon. We plan to set stops at $63.40 to limit potential losses.

Picked on March 27th @ $67.20
Change since picked +0.00
Stop Loss @ $63.40

March 29, 2001

Equitable Resources, Inc. gapped up on Wednesday morning following news that the stock will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 Index after Friday’s close. Shares of EQT traded to an all-time high of $70.50 before pulling back to a close of $68.84 on heavy volume of 1.4 million shares. On Thursday, the stock fell to an intra-day low of $65.11 after J.P. Morgan (JPM) cut its rating on EQT from “buy” to “long-term buy” based on valuation. The stock has been very active over the past two days due to the S&P changes, so the strong volume may continue into next week. However, the S&P 400 is not considered to be a major index, so EQT should be able to survive the short-term volatility and regain its long-term upward trend. For now, support is the 5-dma at $66.83 with additional support at $65.64, the 10-dma. Resistance has moved up to Thursday’s intra-day high of $68 and then the all-time high of $70.50. Look for a bounce off of $66.83 or a breakout above $68 on midday volume of at least 100,000 shares before starting new plays. We are keeping our stops at $63.40 as downside protection.

Picked on March 27th @ $67.20
Change since picked +0.00
Stop Loss @ $63.40