Major Energy Movers in the Week Ending April 17 (Part 1 of 4)
Upstream movers
In the week ending April 17, WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil gained ~8%, and Henry Hub natural gas gained ~5%. In this series, we’ll look at how American energy companies fared the same week.
First, we’ll discuss the best and worst performers of the upstream and integrated energy subsectors. We’ve selected only companies with market capitalizations of over $2 billion and 30-day average daily volumes over a million shares.
Petrobras top gainer
The American Depository Receipt, or ADR, of Brazilian integrated energy company Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR), or Petrobras, continued with its upward momentum this week. It gained ~13.5% in the week ending April 17, following a ~14.5 % gain the week before that. The company shares are now down a third over the last six months. And though the company seems to have put the worst behind them, with a steady uptrend since mid-March, PBR stock is still trading closer to its 52-week low than its 52-week high.
Canadian upstream company Encana (ECA) came second after Petrobras among upstream and integrated gainers last week. It was up almost 13%. But company stock is still trading close to its 52-week low of $10.50 that it hit in March 2015.
YPF the top loser
Coincidentally, the ADR of YPF (YPF), an Argentinian integrated oil and gas company, lost the most last week. It was down ~5%. YPF has lost ~11% over the last six months, but is up ~9.5% since the start of the year.
In a distant second place, shares of Whiting Petroleum (WLL) lost ~1% in the week ending April 17. The company is up ~6% year-to-date but down a whopping ~43% over the last six months.
For context, the broad-market SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) lost ~1% the same week. The iShares U.S. Energy ETF (IYE) that tracks the American energy sector—with large integrated energy companies dominating its holdings—gained ~2% last week.
Continue to Part 2
Browse this series on Market Realist: