Schlumberger Ltd announced that its shares jumped Friday after the oilfield services provider said its second-quarter profit rose 13 percent and issued a bullish outlook. Analysts praised the results. The stock rose $4.72, or 4.9 percent, to $101.50 in late-morning trading.
The Houston-based company said high oil and natural gas prices led to heavier spending [...]

Goldman Sachs upgraded the oilfield services sector to “Attractive” from “Neutral,” predicting strong profit growth due to greater drilling activity and high oil prices.
Analyst Charles Minervino expects earnings to grow in the double digits through 2011 as high oil prices lead to more rapid rig construction, and both drilling activity and the rates oil companies [...]

Schlumberger opened the earnings season for the oilfield services sector with higher profit that nonetheless missed Wall Street forecasts. Income in the January-March quarter was $1.34 billion, or $1.09 a share, compared with $1.18 billion, or 96 cents a share, in the 2007 period. Revenue rose to $6.29 billion from $5.46 billion.
On average, analysts surveyed [...]