What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough between the U.S. and Iran sent crude oil prices tumbling.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures plunged more than 5% to fall below the $100 per barrel mark, while the global benchmark, Brent crude, also saw a significant drop. The sell-off was fueled by comments from U.S. President Trump indicating that talks with Iran were in their final stages, raising expectations that a conflict could be avoided.
A de-escalation in Middle East tensions could lead to the restoration of oil supply from the region. The prospect of more barrels entering the market puts downward pressure on prices, as an increase in supply typically leads to lower costs for the commodity.
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:
- Oilfield Services company ProPetro (NYSE: PUMP) fell 4.6%. Is now the time to buy ProPetro? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Infrastructure company Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE: KGS) fell 3%. Is now the time to buy Kodiak Gas Services? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Upstream Natural Gas E&P company Comstock Resources (NYSE: CRK) fell 4.1%. Is now the time to buy Comstock Resources? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- U.S. Shale E&P company HighPeak Energy (NASDAQ: HPK) fell 3.9%. Is now the time to buy HighPeak Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Mixed or Offshore Upstream E&P company Kosmos Energy (NYSE: KOS) fell 3.6%. Is now the time to buy Kosmos Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On ProPetro (PUMP)
ProPetro’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 43 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 previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock gained 2.6% as crude oil pushed back above $100 a barrel, with Brent near $111 and WTI close to $108.
The move followed fresh comments from President Trump that "the Clock is Ticking" for Iran, a drone attack on the UAE's Barakah nuclear plant over the weekend, and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that normally carries about 20% of the world's oil. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) gained roughly 2.4%, with Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips leading.
Supply data added to the squeeze: U.S. crude inventories fell 4.3 million barrels in early May, dropping below the five-year average, while natural gas futures jumped. The risk for investors remained symmetrical as any de-escalation could reverse the move just as quickly.
ProPetro is up 74.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $17.14 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $18.20 from April 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of ProPetro’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,735.
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