Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) Surges 10.5%: Is This an Indication of Further Gains?
Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) shares soared 10.5% in the last trading session to close at $237.43. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 10% loss over the past four weeks.
The bullishness could be attributed to PXD’s strategic position with top-tier, contiguous acreage in the Midland Basin. Pioneer has achieved remarkable operating margins, evident from its better-than-anticipated second-quarter earnings, thanks to its ability to maintain high realized pricing while keeping cash costs low. With a vast land portfolio of over 1 million net acres in the Permian Basin, Pioneer establishes a robust foundation for enduring oil production growth, which have been significant drivers of its stock performance.
This independent oil and gas company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $5.36 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -28.3%. Revenues are expected to be $5.25 billion, down 13.8% from the year-ago quarter.
Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.
For Pioneer Natural Resources, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 4.5% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on PXD going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Pioneer Natural Resources is a member of the Zacks Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry. One other stock in the same industry, Comstock Resources (CRK), finished the last trading session 5.4% higher at $11.44. CRK has returned -10.4% over the past month.
Comstock's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -6% over the past month to $0.10. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of -91.5%. Comstock currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
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