Devon Pictures Blue Horizon

Shares of GMX fell 83 cents to $45.01 on Thursday but still remain near the high end of their 52-week range.

Waiting Game

Comstock Resources (CRK Quote), one of the most promising Cotton Valley players, looks more cautious.

So far, Chernoff says, Comstock has yet to announce a formal horizontal drilling program for the Cotton Valley at all. However, he says, the company finally mentioned the subject in an investor presentation last month. Unfortunately, he adds, the company excluded the topic from its visual slides and covered it only in its audio discussion -- which is no longer available on its corporate Web site.

For its part, Comstock told TheStreet.com this week that the company is "still evaluating the potential of substituting horizontal wells for the 110 vertical wells" that it is currently planning in the region. Meanwhile, the company said that it has identified two Cotton Valley fields that look like good candidates and expects to test a couple of horizontal wells there next year.

Still, some investors wish that Comstock would move faster.

"I know that other people are starting to get kind of frustrated with Comstock's 'lack of focus,' as they put it," says Chernoff, who owns shares of GMX and Comstock alike.

Comstock's stock reflects that disappointment. The shares, up 5 cents to $30.25 on Thursday, have underperformed others in the group.