Chesapeake Energy's Stock Jumps After Analyst Sees Price Doubling In The Next Year

Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. climbed 1.4% in morning trade Thursday, after Stifel Nicolaus published a bullish research note that implied the stock could possibly double in a year. Analyst Karl Chalabala started coverage of Chesapeake with a buy rating, which for Stifel means the stock is expected to provide investors with a total return of greater than 10% over the next 12 months. But Chalabala said the stock price target was $10.00, which is exactly double Wednesday's closing price of $5.00. "Following a wave of asset divestitures, debt repayments and midstream obligation renegotiations, we believe Chesapeake is well positioned to succeed in the North American shale low-price commodity environment," Chalabala wrote in a note to clients. The stock has plunged 28% year to date, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has lost 8.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 5.3%.