What Covestor managers are buying: Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN)

For his Breakouts and Reversals portfolio, Covestor model manager Ronald Guerrini uses “a simple but robust approach which aims to outperform the S&P500 and NASDAQ 100 with lower volatility and shallower drawdowns.” Ronald averages 22.5 trades a month, and this portfolio’s current top holdings include Baxter International Inc. (BAX), Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc (PTEN) and Stanley Black & Decker Inc (SWK).


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On February 17,  Ronald added Patterson-UTI Energy Inc (NASDAQ: PTEN) to the model. PTEN owns and operates land-based drilling rigs in the United States. Industry views of PTEN are mixed. While PTEN was recently upgraded by Canaccord Genuity, Seth Jayson of The Motley Fool recently had this to say:

Over the past 12 months, Patterson-UTI Energy burned $173.2 million cash on net income of $44.9 million. That means it burned through all its revenue and more. That doesn’t sound so great… With 28.6% of operating cash flow coming from questionable sources, Patterson-UTI Energy investors should take a closer look at the underlying numbers.

Additionally, Benzinga.com reported rumours that PTEN is an acquisition target:

Unconfirmed Rumors Circulate that Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (PTEN) will be acquired at $38.00 a share by Halliburton Company (HAL).

Sources:
“Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc: NASDAQ:PTEN quotes & news” Google Finance 02/23/2011. http://www.google.com/finance?q=nasdaq:pten

“Why Patterson-UTI Energy’s Earnings Aren’t So Hot (DO, NE, PTEN, RIG)” Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool 2/3/2011 http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/02/03/why-patterson-uti-energys-earnings-arent-so-hot.aspx

“Quotes for PTEN” Yahoo! Finance 02/23/2011 https://finance.yahoo.com/q/ud?s=PTEN

“Unconfirmed Rumors Circulate that Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (PTEN) will be acquired at $38.00 a share by Halliburton Company (HAL)” Franklin Price, Benzinga 2/23/2011 http://www.benzinga.com/news/11/02/880113/unconfirmed-rumors-circulate-that-patterson-uti-energy-inc-pten-will-be-acquired-a