Oil & Gas Exploration Stocks that are Overbought and Just Got Bearish Signals
Oil companies, especially exploration companies, have rallied sharply since the end of October. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) rallied 89.7% from the October low to last week’s high. The huge rally has put the ETF in overbought territory based on the 10-day RSI and daily stochastic indicators.
The ETF came to my attention on Friday when I ran a scan of stocks that were overbought and had seen their daily stochastic indicators make bearish crossovers. The XOP was on the list along with 10 individual companies. I ran these 10 companies through the Tickeron Screener and there were two companies that jumped out at me for getting bearish signals with pretty high confidence levels.
Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) and EQT Corp. (EQT) were the two companies with bearish signals and both received bearish signals on January 15. The signal for EQT showed a confidence level of 76% and Cabot’s signal showed a confidence level of 75%. These signals call for declines of at least 4% over the next month.
Looking at the fundamental analysis indicators, both companies have more negative marks than positives, but EQT has five negative scores and only one positive score. Cabot has four negative scores and three positive scores. Both companies get poor ratings from the Valuation Ratings, the Profit vs. Risk Ratings, the SMR Ratings, and the Seasonality Scores. The only area where they both score well is the Outlook Ratings.
The stocks score much better on the technical side. EQT has three bullish signals and two bearish signals while Cabot has four bullish signals and one bearish signal. Both companies got bearish signals from the Bollinger Bands and both have been overbought for numerous days on the stochastic indicators and the RSI indicator. Both companies get have received bullish signals from the MACD, the Momentum Indicator, and the Moving Average indicator.
Oil prices have been considerably more volatile recently and the energy sector has followed suit. Over the last few months the energy sector has been the top performing sector on a number of days, but it has also been the worst performer on a number of days. Obviously with the upward trajectory of the stocks over the last few months, there have been more big upward moves than downward ones.
For a complete comparison between Cabot and EQT see the Tickeron analysis below. The analysis shows how these two companies score compared to one another, and it also looks at the industry as a whole.
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Harry Richardson — Algorithmic Trader & Strategy Developer Harry is an algorithmic trader specializing in impulse and breakout trading strategies across cryptocurrency and equity markets. With more than 10 years of experience in developing automated trading systems, he focuses on building structured algorithms designed to capture momentum while maintaining strict risk control. His approach combines quantitative analysis, real-market execution, and continuous performance monitoring. Vitalii prioritizes risk management, drawdown control, and strategy stability over short-term optimization, ensuring algorithms are adaptable to changing market conditions. He has developed and tested hundreds of automated strategies, working extensively with live trading environments, forward testing, and portfolio-level algorithm management. His work centers on transforming trading ideas into fully operational, scalable automated systems.
XOP's RSI Oscillator peaks and leaves overbought zone
The 10-day RSI Indicator for XOP moved out of overbought territory on September 16, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is shifting from an upward trend to a downward trend. Traders may want to look at selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 33 instances where the indicator moved out of the overbought zone. In 32 of the 33 cases the stock moved lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of a move down at 90%.
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bearish Trend Analysis
The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on September 16, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on XOP as a result. In 76 of 83 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 90%.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for XOP turned negative on September 16, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 49 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In 41 of the 49 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at 84%.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where XOP declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 86%.
XOP broke above its upper Bollinger Band on September 01, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Stochastic Oscillator is in the oversold zone. Keep an eye out for a move up in the foreseeable future.
Following a +0.36% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where XOP advanced for three days, in 346 of 379 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 90%.
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In 263 of 292 cases where XOP Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 90%.
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The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
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