What: Shares of Magnum Hunter Resources Corp (NYSE: MHR) were off more than 11% by midafternoon on Thursday. The move was largely driven by an analyst downgrade the day before, with that negativity compounded by weaker oil prices.
So what: On Wednesday, Imperial Capital downgraded Magnum Hunter Resources Corp's stock from in-line to underperform. On top of that, the firm slashed Magnum Hunter Resources' price target from $1.75 to $1.25 per share. In that report, the downgrading firm said:
Even if Magnum Hunter Resources is successful in raising $100 million or more in cash in the relative near term, we believe that in its current operating configuration the firm will outspend cash flow by roughly an equal amount in the latter three quarters of 2015. If the company were to raise all of the cash it has targeted through divestitures and JVs, then it likely would have enough liquidity to move through 2016, but would still need to raise considerable cash for 2017 activity.
Said another way, Magnum Hunter Resources isn't self-funding its business right now, which is a concern as there are no signs it will turn the corner anytime soon.
Now what: While investors didn't react much to the downgrade yesterday, several apparently didn't sleep well last night and are dumping their stock today. That's not a surprise, as Magnum Hunter Resources has a tough road ahead. This is a company that has used outside capital to fund its growth for years and now that those sources are drying up, the company is left with fewer options -- and those at its disposal aren't as compelling as the cheap capital it has grown accustomed to using.
