Buy between 25 and 30

Finerman added Pride (PDE) as another potential takeover target.

Market Perform -- Price 24.15 on July 7
by Morgan Keegan

PDE recently updated its fleet status, and we are taking this opportunity to adjust our estimates related to lower day-rate and utilization assumptions for the jack-up fleet, both internationally and domestically. We're decreasing our 2Q09E-EPS to 66 cents, from 68 cents, driven by higher cost assumptions -- as PDE records costs for currently marketing more rigs than drilling demand requires. We are maintaining our 2009 EPS estimate at $2.25, but slightly trimming our 2010E-EPS to $2.07 -- from $2.15 -- given our assumption changes. Our call: PDE continues to stack mat-supported jack-ups, and now has just five of 20 under contract. The company is still striving to become a deepwater-focused driller, with spinoff of mat-supported rig fleet expected mid-year ... . PDE will be a better company and a better stock once spinoff is complete, but at 25% asset-utilization, the new venture will likely struggle ... commodity uncertainty and economic concerns present few catalysts for the remainder of "09 ... we remain on the sidelines until drilling activity picks up. Market cap: $4.2 billion.

Buy - Price 19.97 on April 7
by Jesup & Lamont

This large offshore driller updated fleet-status, [showing] further downtime...we've lowered our 2009-E earnings from $3 a share to $2.80; and we have lowered our 2010-E earnings to $3 a share from $3.55. Pride is planning to spin off its shallow-jackup fleet in a tax-free division...it expects this to occur in mid-'09. New management in recent years has refocused on deepwater [drilling], and shed...its South American oilfield-service company and land fleet and...platform fleet[s]. Pride has also been paying down debt the last five years; we expect continued improvement in its debt/equity ratio, which is now 14%. Our Buy is based on a new target of 24 (down from 28.40), derived from a multiple of 8 times 2010 estimated earnings. Market cap: $3.4 billion.

Charlie Maxwell

I’m long Pride (PDE), Transocean (RIG) and Flowserve (FLS), says Finerman.

From a recent Mad Money show:

"There is so much drilling going on; I want to own a contract driller. We will see some pain now, but the gains will be coming."

From a recent Mad Money show:

"There is so much drilling going on; I want to own a contract driller. We will see some pain now, but the gains will be coming."

Pride International (PDE) was upgraded from Underperform to Buy at Merrill Lynch. $44-$55 price target. PDE's transition to a pure deepwater play is commanding a premium multiple and upside M&A potential.

Pride International (PDE) was downgraded from Market Perform to Underperform at Wachovia. Pride will most likely underperform the mean return of covered offshore drillers in either direction, and could depreciate even if the universe trades up.

Icahn dumped it