Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) Capitalized for Drilling Acceleration

Contrary to some of their peers, Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) has the capital to accelerate drilling at its Eagle Ford Shale and Spraberry Trend projects.

Global Hunter says, "Pioneer is accelerating its drilling activity in the prolific and liquid-rich Spraberry Trend and Eagle Ford Shale plays, with upside to current market expectations. The company's recent sale of Tunisian assets provides substantial capital to further accelerate development."

Global Hunter Securities launched coverage on Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) with a "Buy." Pioneer closed Friday at $91.15, up $1.77, or 1.98 percent. Global has a price target of $120 on Pioneer.

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) Still Has Room to Grow

Even though Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) has been soaring lately, as they are up by about 40 percent over the last several months and outperformed their peers by 10 percent during that time, FBR Capital sees them with plenty of upside going forward.

FBR said, "Recent stock price outperformance (up 40% and outperformed the peer group by 10% over the last three months, S&P 500 up 12%) is leading investors to ask whether the stock is fairly valued at these levels. We maintain that there is room for continued multiple expansion as we believe production growth rate should accelerate and key catalysts should play out through early next year. We believe that improvements in EURs from deeper vertical drilling in the Spraberry field will move higher through next year (with material positive implications for IRRs) with the inclusion of more data from the Strawn formation. Also, we are optimistic about results from horizontal drilling being currently conducted in the Spraberry field."

FBR maintains their "Outperform/Top Pick" rating on Pioneer, which was trading at $84.25, up by $0.33, or 0.39 percent as of 11:27 AM EST. FBR raised their price target on them from $85 to $105.