Oppenheimer Maintains Perform on Cabot Oil & Gas

Oppenheimer is out with its report today on Cabot Oil & Gas

, maintaining Perform. In a note to clients, Oppenheimer writes, "COG is the best performing E&P stock this year, gaining 60%, compared with a gain of 5% for the group and less than 1% for the S&P 500. The surge in the stock price was mainly due to strong drilling results in the Marcellus, where COG has 200,000 net acres in what could be the most prospective part of the play. But even with the strong production and reserve growth outlook, we think COG shares are fairly valued relative to peers, and barring a takeover bid in the next 6-12 months, we think the upside potential is not significantly greater than the downside risk from continued weak gas prices." Shares of COG closed Thursday at $60.43, up 3.78% from Wednesday's close.