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Halliburton, EOG Resources and Apache are the stocks to buy for the coming energy rally, Chris Verrone, partner at Strategas Research, told CNBC on Tuesday.
“There is a trade here within this energy sector,” the technical analyst said on CNBC’s “Fast Money.” “And let’s keep in mind, the backdrop is crude oil. If you look at the Brent, [it] is actually back at the highs.”
Oil has rallied on concerns U.S. sanctions on Iran could hurt global supply. Brent crude surged 2.2 percent to $79.10. Longer term, Energy Exchange Traded Fund XLE has over the past two years experienced higher lows, and is now holding near its 200-day moving average — or the average closing price over the last 200 days, a key indicator of long-term trends. Despite the gains, certain stocks within the energy sector haven’t experienced much of a boost.
“I think lost in the discussion … the last couple of weeks is Brent oil has gone 70 to 80 — before we even knew about the storm. This is not a storm story,” Verrone said. “There is a bid to oil here. I think the stocks have separated from that. I think that’s a mistake, and I think the market is going to start to reflect that.”
Halliburton has dropped 23.6 percent year to date, to about $37 per share from about $48 at the end of December 2017, according to FactSet.
“Very quietly over the last several days, you reversed off the very important $35 level, you’ve held those levels. We think it’s not out of the question you can bounce back to the 200-day moving average, that’s near $44, $45. Certainly a rally candidate there,” he said.
EOG Resources has come back to its 200-day moving average, in the context of higher lows, like the XLE ETF.
Finally, Apache’s 50-day moving average — or the average closing price over the last 50 days — recently crossed above its 200-day moving average. Verrone said that makes now a “decent entry point” for investors.
“Some of these beaten-down names, the service stocks, bottomed on a very big volume the last several days, Halliburton probably being the best example of that. There is a trade here to be had,” Verrone said.