Carrizo Oil & Gas (NASDAQ:CRZO) Hounded by Barnett Challenges

Carrizo Oil & Gas (NASDAQ:CRZO) appears to be fully valued at its current price, says Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), citing continuous challenges in the Barnett Shale.

Wells said, "It may be short term, but currently clouding our view of the company’s ability to execute are infrastructure and takeaway challenges in the Barnett, but more importantly in the Eagle Ford. At the current share price, we believe the market has priced in a fair value for the Eagle Ford and Niobrara upside and that a better risk/reward can likely be found in other names."

Wells downgraded Carrizo Oil & Gas from "Outperform" to "Market Perform." Carrizo closed Friday at $33.16, losing $1.04, or 3.04 percent.

Anadarko (NYSE:APC), Rex Energy (Nasdaq: REXX), Carrizo (Nasdaq:CRZO), Petroleum Development (Nasdaq:PETD) and QEP (NYSE:QEP) Niobrara Results Anticipated

Anticipation is growing over the Niobrara well results from energy companies like Anadarko (NYSE:APC), Rex Energy (Nasdaq:REXX), Carrizo (Nasdaq:CRZO), Petroleum Development (Nasdaq:PETD) and QEP (NYSE:QEP), who are expected to release findings over the next several months.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) noted, "The Niobrara could be the next big oil-shale play. The Eagleford and arguably the Bakken and Barnett are the others. Activity in the area has picked up and we expect a slew of new well results (many in untested areas) over the coming months. Chesapeake's (NYSE:CHK) much anticipated JV deal could add to the buzz.

"News flow is expected to increase soon. Anadarko Petroleum, Rex Energy, Carrizo, Petroleum Development and QEP Resources are all due to report results from horizontal wells targeting the Niobrara between now and late January/mid-February. SM has recently completed its second well in Laramie county and NBL is also drilling its first wells in Wyoming. EOG has been monitoring well performance looking for more proof of matrix support and will provide an update in early 2011. Bill Barrett (NYSE:BBG) is testing the prospectivity of its acreage in the Wind River Basin. Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) and Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) should spud their first wells soon."

Anadarko closed Thursday at $69.07, up $0.43, or 0.63 percent. Rex Energy closed at $12.35, up $0.25, or 2.07 percent. Carrizon ended the session at $30.31, up $1.21, or 4.16 percent. Petroleum Development was at $38.82, up $0.04, or 0.10 percent. QEP Resources ended the day at $37.29, up $0.08, or 0.22 percent.