We’re not above admitting when we’ve been wrong. Last July MDN shared a rumor–and stressed it was a rumor–that CONSOL Energy was in talks to sell it’s CNX Gas division to Noble Energy (see Rumors Circulate that CONSOL May Sell Itself to Noble Energy). A few days later we modified that rumor to say that Noble Energy would take over the joint venture acreage the two have together (see CONSOL Energy/Noble Energy Rumors Continue to Swirl). Neither of those things ended up happening–at least not yet. However, CONSOL’s largest single investor, corporate raider Mason Hawkins (who in league with corporate raider Carl Ichan have been screwing with Chesapeake Energy) told CONSOL to separate their coal business from the natural gas business, which they’ve begun to do (see CONSOL’s #1 Stockholder Says Spin Off CNX Gas…or Sell It). Parent company CONSOL’s stock is traded as CNX. A new coal division (for investors) was created, CNX Coal (CNXC), although some (much?) of the coal assets are still part of the CNX entity. CONSOL’s midstream/pipeline business, called CONE Midstream (a jv with Noble Energy) is traded as CNNX. Yes, it’s all a mish mash. We mention all of this as background to an article by a trader commenting on CONSOL’s CNX stock which has literally crashed over the past year–down more than 80% in value. The trader calls the CNX stock a “widow maker”–meaning if you have the chops and can stick it out, there may be money to be had by investing in CNX stock. But, it’s a huge gamble, and not for the feint of heart, according to this trader…
