In the wake of second quarter results, Raymond James issued three recommendations for those watching oil stocks: pressure pumping services are an attractive play, drillers are being undervalued and rental companies should perform well.

The financial services company said that while much had been made about the weak second quarter of 2011, in reality it was the busiest quarter since 2006. This resulted in Raymond James increasing its well count estimate for the year to 16,000 from 14,700.

Going into the second half of the year, Raymond James believes that pressure pumpers will be the best performing class within in their subgroup. In particular, Raymond James singled out Calfrac Well Services Ltd. (CFW:TSX) for a strong performance. Specifically, the firm believes Calfrac – which opened on Monday, August 8 at $35.00 – will have better-than-anticipated results for 2Q11, 2011 and 2012.

Raymond James also believes that drilling companies are not being properly valued compared to their historic levels, meaning that they might present a strong opportunity. Ensign Energy Services Inc. (ESI:TSX) – which opened at $16.58 – is "inherently attractive," according ot the financial services firm.

The final recommendation is that rental companies will perform well due to horizontal drilling and many companies' low sensitivity to rental prices. Raymond James believes Black Diamond (BDI:TSX) and Strad Energy Services (SDY:TSX) will have strong quarters.