What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the morning session after oil prices climbed amid geopolitical uncertainty following the U.S. rejection of a peace proposal from Iran.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose over 2.5% to around $97.89 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, also gained more than 2.6% to approximately $104 per barrel. The price increase followed President Trump's dismissal of Iran's latest peace proposal as "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" This development heightened market concerns about the ongoing conflict. For energy producers, higher oil prices can directly translate to increased revenue and profitability, which typically drives positive investor sentiment.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Mixed or Offshore Upstream E&P company APA Corporation (NASDAQ: APA) jumped 3.2%. Is now the time to buy APA Corporation? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- U.S. Shale E&P company Cactus (NYSE: WHD) jumped 3.5%. Is now the time to buy Cactus? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Oilfield Services company Oceaneering (NYSE: OII) jumped 2.5%. Is now the time to buy Oceaneering? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Oilfield Services company Borr Drilling (NYSE: BORR) jumped 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Borr Drilling? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Cactus (WHD)
Cactus’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 14 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 2 months ago when the stock dropped 5.1% as a sharp retreat in crude oil and natural gas prices amid shifting geopolitical expectations weakened sentiment.
WTI crude futures plunged over 10% to around $84 per barrel, a steep reversal from the nearly $120 seen in the previous session. The sell-off was triggered by multiple factors, including comments from President Trump suggesting the war with Iran could be brief. Additionally, global leaders are signaling a readiness to intervene to stabilize energy markets. The International Energy Agency (IEA), an organization that works to ensure reliable, affordable, and clean energy, has convened a meeting to assess the situation, with G7 nations requesting preparations for a potential release of emergency oil reserves. Meanwhile, natural gas prices also declined, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration lowering its price forecast due to strong domestic production and mild weather, which are expected to insulate the U.S. market from the conflict's impact.
Cactus is up 19.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $56.32 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $58.76 from February 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Cactus’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,650.
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