Is Something Going On With Oasis?

Updates

Later, 1:50 pm CT: three related headlines:

• Goldman Sachs, initiates buy recommendation for CLR, target: $130
• Bakken oil production will surprise Wall Street -- Goldman Sachs (they must be reading my blog)(for regular readers: stay tuned for tomorrow's early morning link; it should be a good one)
• Bakken play boosts HAL, Varco's planned spinoff -- IBD

Later, one minute later: just after posting the original post below, I went "around the horn," and almost all oil companies are having a good day today, some better than others. CLR is jumping, so it is not just Oasis, but Oasis is clearly the standout. Right now, it looks like the Goldman Sachs article linked below that is moving shale oil companies. And the one company GS recommends as a sell (WPX) is down over a percent.

Of the 53 new highs today: BCEI, CLR, OAS, WLL, WMS.
 

Original Post

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On an otherwise flat day for the market, and on a day when the price of oil is falling, all of a sudden, out of the blue, after hitting recent highs, OAS pops another $2.00, up almost 5%.

I don't see any Oasis headlines (I will keep looking) but any stock that pops 5% without an obvious reason ....

KOG is up a percent, so the surge in Oasis could simply be due to analyst's ratings. Last week Sanchez mentioned four companies "with top fundamentals." The only energy company of the four mentioned was Oasis.

Today, I see Goldman Sachs, in Barron's, names Oasis and Approach Resources as top picks for US shale prices. 

Not all stocks are created equal, however, and the analysts expect some stocks to handily outperform others, and their top picks “are poised to deliver long-term, capital-efficient growth…while trading at attractive valuations that currently provide 20%+ upside to our price targets.” Their winners? Oasis Petroleum, Approach Resources, Bonanza Creek Energy, and Gulfport Energy, all of which are rated Buy with Oasis also added to Goldman’s conviction list. Investors, however, should avoid  WPX Energy, which the analysts rate a Sell.

So, now back-to-back, in less than a week, one article in Barron's and one article in IBD both name Oasis as a top pick.