UPDATE: Sterne Agee Raises PT to $60 on Gulfport Energy on Updated Utica Valuation

Sterne Agee maintained Gulfport Energy

with a Buy rating and raised the price target from $52.00 to $60.00. Sterne Agee commented, "Following a strong 4Q earnings call that helped quantify the Utica Shale's resource potential, we raise our PT to $60 and increase 2014E EBITDA estimate by 7% to $714 million. Longer-term flow rates from the Wagner and Boy Scout wells show that the traditional hyperbolic decline curve for shale wells may not be applicable in the Utica, and that the 1.8 mmboe EUR reserve booking for the Wagner well could prove to be a conservative reserve estimate across the play's fairway." Gulfport Energy closed at $42.23 on Monday.