A couple of key insiders have started to snap up shares of ATP Oil & Gas(ATPG_), a company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico and the UK and Dutch sectors of the North Sea. Insiders are finding some deep value here since this stock is off by 60% so far in 2011. ATP Oil & Gas has a market cap of $344.58 million and an enterprise value of $2.18 billion. The company's estimated growth rate for this year is 29.7%, and for next year it's pegged at 80.5%. This is far from a cash-rich company, with a total cash position on its balance sheet of $172.18 million and total debt of over $2 billion. The CEO and director bought 35,000 shares, or $204,750 worth of stock, at $5.85 per share on Nov. 15. On Nov. 16, this same CEO bought 30,000 shares, or $197,700 worth of stock, at $6.59 per share. Another director also bought 100,000 shares, or $649,000 worth of stock, at $6.49 per share.
From a technical standpoint, this stock is currently trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock has actually been stuck in a nasty downtrend for the last six months with shares failing over and over again whenever it traders near its 50-day moving average. That said, this stock has bounced big twice since August whenever it collapsed below $6 a share. The stock is now starting to enter oversold territory, with its relative strength index showing a reading of 34. If you're bullish on this stock, I would look to get long for a trade once it takes out Wednesday's high of $7.12 on heavy volume. Look for volume that's tracking in close to or above its three-month average of 2.22 million shares. This stock could easily bounce big back towards its 50-day of $9.62, so watch for any high-volume strength in the coming days or weeks. It's worth mentioning that this stock is heavily shorted since 40% of the tradable float is currently sold short by the bears. |