ATP Oil & Gas (ATPG) Falls On Obama Plan to Limit Off-Shore Drilling, Analyst Says "Overreaction"

ATP Oil & Gas Corp. (Nasdaq: ATPG) is under heavy pressure today as President Obama announced a halt to drilling operations at 33 deep-water rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

The President is also suspending the sale of leases in the Gulf of Mexico and the proposed sale of leases off Virginia, suspending permits for new deep-water Gulf of Mexico wells for 6 months and suspending planned exploration of two sites off Alaska.

An analyst at Natixis Bleichroeder, Curtis Trimble, told StreetInsider.com that ATP Oil & Gas is not on the list of rigs that will be impacted by the halt. However, he said the 6-month moratorium on permits could push back the company's Telemark well into 2011, versus the end of 2010.

Shares are down 6.8% today to $11.68 and down 44% over the last month.

Trimble called today's sell-off an "overreaction." He has a Buy rating and $23 price target on the stock.

NOTE: Natixis Bleichroeder LLC and/or its affiliates make an over-the-counter market in ATPG. Within the last 12 months, Natixis Bleichroeder LLC and/or its affiliates managed or comanaged a public offering of the securities of ATP Oil and Gas.

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