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.
XOP saw its Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) turn negative on May 26, 2026. This is a bearish signal that suggests the stock could decline going forward. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 49 instances where the indicator turned negative. In of the 49 cases the stock moved lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of a downward move at .
The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on May 26, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on XOP as a result. In of 81 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
XOP moved below its 50-day moving average on May 21, 2026 date and that indicates a change from an upward trend to a downward trend.
The 10-day moving average for XOP crossed bearishly below the 50-day moving average on May 15, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted lower and could be considered a sell signal. In of 20 past instances when the 10-day crossed below the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
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 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
XOP broke above its upper Bollinger Band on April 29, 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.
The Aroon Indicator for XOP entered a downward trend on June 04, 2026. This could indicate a strong downward move is ahead for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options.
The Stochastic Oscillator suggests the stock price trend may be in a reversal from a downward trend to an upward trend. of 64 cases where XOP's Stochastic Oscillator exited the oversold zone resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are .
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where XOP advanced for three days, in of 378 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
Category Energy