New York, January 5, 2026, 10:25 EST — Regular session
- EQT shares fell about 4% as U.S. natural gas futures slid on a warmer mid-January outlook.
- Bernstein lifted its EQT price target, but traders stayed focused on the gas tape.
- The next key catalyst is the U.S. storage report due Thursday, Jan. 8. U.S. Energy Information Administration
EQT Corp shares fell 4.2% to $51.20 in morning trading on Monday, tracking a slide in U.S. natural gas prices at the start of the week.
The move matters because producers like EQT sell into a market where winter heating demand can swing quickly with weather forecasts. In January, a few degrees on the map can mean a very different balance between supply and demand.
Front-month Henry Hub natural gas futures — the nearest, most actively traded contract — were down about 3.3% at $3.498 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), a standard energy unit used in U.S. gas trading. CME Group
Weather is back in the driver’s seat. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center updated its 8–14 day outlook on Sunday for Jan. 12–18, a window traders use as a proxy for mid-month heating demand. Noaa
That softer demand view has pushed futures to the lowest since late October, Bloomberg reported early Monday, keeping pressure on gas-linked equities even as broader markets steadied. Bloomberg
On the stock-specific side, Bernstein analyst Bob Brackett raised EQT’s price target to $73 from $72 and maintained an “Outperform” rating, according to a note published by TheFly.
EQT’s slide was not isolated. Antero Resources fell 6.7% and Range Resources dropped 4.5%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund — an ETF designed to track natural gas futures — fell 6.2%.
The market’s macro read is straightforward: warmer forecasts, resilient U.S. output and the tug-of-war between domestic demand and liquefied natural gas export demand are setting the tone for 2026’s opening trades, as analysis published on Nasdaq.com noted. Nasdaq
“There’s also some concern internationally … talk of a potential glut,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group, in commentary cited by a Reuters-sourced market recap. TechStock²
The risk for bears is a fast flip back to colder forecasts. If temperature outlooks tighten or exports absorb more supply than expected, gas prices can rebound sharply and pull producers with them; if warmth persists alongside strong output, the downside pressure can linger.
Traders’ next hard datapoint is the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly natural gas storage report, due Thursday, Jan. 8 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, a release that often resets short-term positioning. U.S. Energy Information Administration
