Bill Barrett Corp. (BBG)

Investors in Bill Barrett Corp saw new options begin trading this week, for the June 2015 expiration. One of the key data points that goes into the price an option buyer is willing to pay, is the time value, so with 240 days until expiration the newly trading contracts represent a possible opportunity for sellers of puts or calls to achieve a higher premium than would be available for the contracts with a closer expiration.

Bill Barrett (BBG) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from Hold to Sell with a ratings score of D+.

Trade-Ideas LLC identified Bill Barrett Corporation (BBG) as a weak on high relative volume candidate

In trading on Tuesday, shares of Bill Barrett Corp entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $18.31 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used to measure momentum on a scale of zero to 100.

In its quest to expand with a weight toward oil properties, Canada's Encana scoops up Permian Basin player Athlon Energy for $7.1 billion.

Bill Barrett (BBG) was upgraded Monday morning to 'market perform' at BMO Capital.

Bill Barrett (BBG) is gaining Tuesday after announcing a divestiture of Powder River and Piceance Basin properties, and the acquisition of more acreage in Northeast Wattenburg.

Trade-Ideas LLC identified Bill Barrett Corporation (BBG) as a "perilous reversal" (up big yesterday but down big today) candidate

Trade-Ideas LLC identified Bill Barrett Corporation (BBG) as a "dead cat bounce" (down big yesterday but up big today) candidate

In trading on Tuesday, shares of Bill Barrett Corp crossed below their 200 day moving average of $26.08, changing hands as low as $26.06 per share. Bill Barrett Corp shares are currently trading up about 0.3% on the day.

Investors in Bill Barrett Corp saw new options become available this week, for the August 16th expiration. At Stock Options Channel, our YieldBoost formula has looked up and down the BBG options chain for the new August 16th contracts and identified one put and one call contract of particular interest.

Mizuho downgraded Bill Barrett (BBG) to "neutral" from "buy" and set a $28 price target based on valuation, as the stock is up 20% over the past six weeks.

Here are today's top research calls.

Wells Fargo upgraded Bill Barrett (BBG) to "outperform" from "market perform." The firm notes the stock has lagged but believes the company can deliver solid growth in the coming quarters.

Investors in Bill Barrett Corp saw new options become available this week, for the May 17th expiration. At Stock Options Channel, our YieldBoost formula has looked up and down the BBG options chain for the new May 17th contracts and identified one put and one call contract of particular interest.

The most recent short interest data has been released by the NASDAQ for the 02/14/2014 settlement date, which shows a 1,370,782 share decrease in total short interest for Bill Barrett Corp , to 10,220,890, a decrease of 11.83% since 01/31/2014. Total short interest is just one way to look at short data; another metric that we here at Dividend Channel find particularly useful is the "days to cover" metric because it considers both the total shares short and the average daily volume of shares traded.

Denver oil explorer Bill Barrett Corporation (BBG) plummeted 15.1% to $23.51 on Wednesday after weak output guidance prompted Global Hunter to downgrade the stock. After the bell Tuesday, the oiler reported full-year production of 14.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), a 30% year-over-year increase. The company also said it had proved reserves of 197 million boe, including 88% growth in reserves at three active oil programs.

Investors considering a purchase of Bill Barrett Corp shares, but cautious about paying the going market price of $28.17/share, might benefit from considering selling puts among the alternative strategies at their disposal. One interesting put contract in particular, is the September put at the $20 strike, which has a bid at the time of this writing of 80 cents.

Investors considering a purchase of Bill Barrett Corp shares, but cautious about paying the going market price of $25.70/share, might benefit from considering selling puts among the alternative strategies at their disposal. One interesting put contract in particular, is the March 2014 put at the $22.50 strike, which has a bid at the time of this writing of $1.30.

Cramer said it's clear by the lack of a major selloff that many investors hope for a last-minute secret deal from Congress to avoid the government shutdown.

This oil-and-gas name is flirting with resistance. If it can break past that level, I'll consider buying.

Drillers Newfield Exploration and Bill Barrett are cheap energy plays, while Pan American Silver is worth digging into, says Mark Travis, Portfolio Manager for the Intrepid Small Cap Fund.

The most recent short interest data has been released by the NASDAQ for the 07/31/2013 settlement date, which shows a 1,333,916 share decrease in total short interest for Bill Barrett Corp , to 11,651,586, a decrease of 10.27% since 07/15/2013. Total short interest is just one way to look at short data; another metric that we here at Dividend Channel find particularly useful is the "days to cover" metric because it considers both the total shares short and the average daily volume of shares traded.

In trading on Monday, shares of Bill Barrett Corp crossed below their 200 day moving average of $20.45, changing hands as low as $20.20 per share. Bill Barrett Corp shares are currently trading down about 4.4% on the day.

These stocks are poised to benefit from the stunning rebound in natural gas.

Bill Barrett Corporation (NYSE:BBG) is trading at unusually high volume Monday with 3.1 million shares changing hands. It is currently at 2.1 times its average daily volume and trading down $1.98 (-9.7%).

In trading on Monday, shares of Bill Barrett Corp crossed below their 200 day moving average of $20.34, changing hands as low as $19.21 per share. Bill Barrett Corp shares are currently trading off about 6.2% on the day.

Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

Looking at charts of CONSOL and Bill Barrett Corp.