Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. surged 2.9% in active morning trade Monday, after the oil and gas company announced $450 million in asset sales. Trading volume of 17.7 million shares makes the stock the second-most active on the major U.S. exchanges. The company said it reached a deal to sell a portion of the acreage and properties in its Haynesville Shale area in northern Louisiana, including 78,000 net acres, to a private company. Chesapeake said it has now reached $2 billion in gross proceeds from asset sales, as part of its long-term target to reach $2 billion to $3 billion in debt reduction. Analyst Neal Dingmann reiterated his buy rating on the company, saying the deal should help the company reach its leverage goals. “Our thesis remains that the company’s massive acreage position…ensures adequate upcoming liquidity/leverage growth,” Dingmann wrote in a note to clients. The stock
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