=DJ Pioneer Natural Resources Up On Buyout Speculation
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Dow Jones Real-Time News for InvestorsSM
1:44 p.m. 03/24/2006
By Bob Sechler
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) climbed about 4% Friday, based on market speculation that XTO Energy Inc. (XTO) is targeting Pioneer for a buyout.
Spokespersons for the two companies couldn't immediately be reached for comment Friday.
Pioneer was trading recently at $41.38, up $1.55 a share from Thursday's close at $39.83. Volume was 3.67 million shares traded, compared to a daily average of 1.65 million.
Earlier Friday, the stock traded as high as $43.04, up 8%, before retrenching somewhat.
Aperion Group LLC analyst Daniel Morrison said he is skeptical of the buyout talk, partly because Pioneer recently made some strategic changes.
"Pioneer has just in the last few months implemented a new corporate strategy," Morrison said. "It seems unlikely that they would sell without giving that time to work."
Still, Morrison noted that "everything's for sale at a price," and he added that the two companies, both of which are based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, have some complimentary assets on paper.
He doesn't own a stake in Pioneer, nor does his firm have an investment-banking relationship with it.
-By Bob Sechler, Dow Jones Newswires; 512-236-9637
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