Kosmos Energy Ltd

Black Stone Minerals (BSM), a mineral interest owner structured as an MLP, was the strongest E&P (exploration and production) stock last week, rising 11.1%.

The Baupost Group added a stake in eBay Inc. (EBAY) that accounted for 3.62% of the fund’s total second quarter portfolio. eBay is a global technology company that enables commerce through three reportable segments—Marketplaces, Payments, and Enterprise.

Oil prices fell because of growing concerns about rising US crude oil production. The US oil rig count rose by 15 to 566 for the week ending on January 27.

The EIA estimated that monthly US natural gas consumption rose by 19 Bcf per day to 91 Bcf per day in December 2016—compared to the previous month.

The EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) estimates that Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production rose by 50,000 bpd (barrels per day) to 10.20 MMbpd (million barrels per day) in July 2017 compared to the previous month.

US commercial crude oil (USO) (UWTI) inventories fell by 3.4 MMbbls (million barrels) compared to the previous week for the week ending May 6, 2016.

The Baupost Group added a position in Theravance Biopharma Inc. (TBPH) that accounted for 9.89% of the fund’s total second quarter portfolio. Theravance Biopharma was recently spun out of Theravance (THRX).

The size of the fund’s U.S. long portfolio increased 48% to $6.14 billion in the second quarter from $4.14 billion in the first quarter. The fund’s top positions include Micron Technology, Idenix Pharmaceuticals, and Viasat.

In this series, we’ll look at the top seven upstream companies that Wall Street analysts like the most.

To conclude our series on the biggest movers in the upstream and oilfield service sectors, we’ll now look at Wall Street’s recommendations for this week’s strongest and weakest stocks.

This week, Kosmos Energy (KOS) has fallen ~6.9% from $8.45 to $7.87. On June 26, KOS closed the day with a loss of ~2.6%.

In 9M17, KOS’s production increased ~107.0% to ~7.8 million barrels when compared with 9M16.

So far in 2H17, W&T Offshore (WTI) stock price rose from $1.96 at the end of June 2017 to $3.15 as of November 16 – a very strong rise of ~61%.

In the week starting October 2, 2017, Jones Energy (JONE) has fallen ~9.0%, from $1.92 to $1.74. It has fallen every day so far this week.

So far in September 2017, W&T Offshore (WTI) stock has risen from $1.91 at the end of August to $2.57 as of September 19, 2017, a ~35.0% rise.

As of June 30, 2017, Devon Energy’s (DVN) total shares shorted (or short interest) stood at ~10.4 million, whereas its average daily volume was ~5.9 million.

As of May 15, 2017, the short interest ratio in Cobalt International Energy’s (CIE) stock is ~9.1x.

US natural gas consumption rose 13.5% between January 25, 2017, and February 1, 2017. The rise in consumption is bullish for natural gas prices.

The EIA estimates that US natural gas consumption could average 75.4 Bcf per day in 2017 and 76.9 Bcf per day in 2018.

PointLogic reported that US natural gas consumption rose by 2% from July 14–20. Natural gas consumption rose for the sixth time in the last seven weeks.

Market intelligence company PointLogic reported that US natural gas consumption rose by 4.4% for the week ended July 13, 2016. compared with the previous week.

PointLogic reported that US natural gas consumption fell by 3.7% between June 30, 2016, and July 6, 2016. This was the first fall in the last five weeks.

The relationship between crude oil inventories and crude oil prices is inverse. Crude oil prices bottomed out in early 2016. Inventories topped out as well.

PointLogic reported that US natural gas consumption rose marginally by 0.2% for the week ending June 1, 2016—compared to the previous week.

From February 26, 2016, to April 22, 2016, the US Dollar Index has fallen around 3%. The last 30-day correlation with crude oil stood at -24% on April 22.

Historically, crude oil prices and the S&P 500 index have influenced each other.

After Mohammad Bin Salman Al-Saud’s interview on April 1, investors turned bearish on crude oil. During the last two trading sessions, US crude oil lost about 6.8%.

The OPEC and non-OPEC deal and a weaker dollar helped crude oil prices rally in the last two weeks. However, crude may not be able to sustain its gains.

Middle East nations like Saudi Arabia and Iran are sensing the need to diversify their economies. Yet Saudi Arabia hasn’t yet signaled oil production cuts.

Saudi Arabia has led the Middle East as well as OPEC for more than a decade. But the kingdom is Sunni-dominated, and Shia influence has begun to grow.

Within the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP), the stocks operating with a production mix of crude oil greater than 90% have fallen by 14.6% this month, as of January 9.

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) has become the battleground for two different nations—Saudi Arabia and Iran.

February’s crude oil contract rose 4.6% in the seven days ended December 23. The major drivers of crude oil prices are falling crude oil inventories.

The US Dollar Index fell by nearly 1% as the basket of currencies that the US dollar is weighed against posted gains.

Yesterday, the API reported that the crude oil stockpile fell by 3.2 MMbbls for the week ending June 19. It’s a precursor to Wednesday’s inventory report from the EIA.

The US rig count fell by 40% compared to a year ago, but 9.6 million bpd were still pumped in the United States, the highest since 1970. Hedging by oil companies has helped.

The Baupost Group added a position in SunEdison Semiconductor (SEMI) that accounted for 1.14% of the fund’s total second quarter portfolio. SunEdison Semiconductor develops, manufactures, and sells silicon wafers to the semiconductor industry.