Ahead of the Bell: Petrohawk Energy

A Morgan Keegan analyst resumed coverage of oil and gas producer Petrohawk Energy Corp. with an "Outperform" rating on Thursday, saying the company's Haynesville shale play offers growth potential.

Analyst Chris Pikul gave the stock an "Outperform" rating with a fair value range of $55 to $60.

Petrohawk shares closed at $35.06 on Thursday. The stock has traded in the range of $14 to $54.49 during the past year, dropping about 18 percent in the past two months.

Pikul, in a client note, said much of Houston-based Petrohawk's value lies in the unbooked reserve potential in the company's extensive drilling inventory, including about 300,000 prospective acres for the Haynesville shale.

The Haynesville shale is a formation that lies in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Researchers say it could eventually produce 29 to 39 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, making it one of the largest U.S. gas finds ever.

Pikul said said investors should note the stock price reflects some upside in the emerging Haynesville shale play.

"Nevertheless, given the tremendous resource potential in the Haynesville, we believe the risk/reward ratio is actually quite favorable for investors given the pullback in Petrohawk shares over the past two months," Pikul wrote.