What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalated, pushing crude oil prices sharply higher. 

President Trump's televised remarks signaled that the U.S. conflict with Iran could continue for several more weeks, increasing investor nervousness. This uncertainty drove West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude prices up. With supply potentially constrained, markets are anticipating that higher global oil prices will be reflected in stronger earnings for oil and gas companies.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• U.S. Shale E&P company Matador Resources (NYSE: MTDR) jumped 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Matador Resources? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• U.S. Shale E&P company Viper Energy (NASDAQ: VNOM) jumped 2.6%. Is now the time to buy Viper Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• U.S. Shale E&P company Chord Energy (NASDAQ: CHRD) jumped 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Chord Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Mixed or Offshore Upstream E&P company Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) jumped 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Murphy Oil? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Mixed or Offshore Upstream E&P company SM Energy (NYSE: SM) jumped 3.7%. Is now the time to buy SM Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On SM Energy (SM)

SM Energy’s shares are very volatile and have had 28 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock dropped 5.6% on the news that signals of de-escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict caused oil prices to fall, removing a key support for the energy sector. 

The drop in crude prices came after President Trump suggested the U.S. could wind down its military campaign against Iran within weeks, and Iran's president stated a readiness to end the war. This news unwound the "war premium" that had boosted oil stocks during the conflict. As a result, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell about 2% to trade below $101 a barrel. The decline was also fueled by traders taking profits after a strong run in energy stocks.

SM Energy is up 59.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $30.45 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $32.72 from March 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of SM Energy’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,764.

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