BP (NYSE:BP) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $39.22, but opened at $37.01. BP shares last traded at $36.5230, with a volume of 6,282,040 shares trading hands.

Trending Headlines about BP

Here are the key news stories impacting BP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 operating beat — BP reported $0.60 EPS (vs. $0.58 consensus) and revenue of $47.38bn, topping expectations; underlying replacement-cost profit remained positive, supporting near-term cash generation. BP Earnings & Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Underlying profit roughly in line — BP’s adjusted underlying profit (~$1.54bn) was broadly in line with analysts’ expectations, tempering alarm from the headline accounting loss. Reuters: Q4 profits in line
• Neutral Sentiment: Asset-sale activity could free cash — Reports say BP is in talks to sell its Gelsenkirchen refinery, which could help raise cash and improve leverage if executed. Reuters: Gelsenkirchen refinery interest
• Negative Sentiment: Buyback suspended — BP said it will pause share buybacks and redirect “excess cash” to reduce debt and strengthen the balance sheet, removing a significant source of shareholder support and triggering a negative market reaction. MSN: BP suspends buyback
• Negative Sentiment: Large Q4 accounting hit — BP reported a $3.4bn headline loss for Q4 driven by inventory holding losses and ~ $4bn of post‑tax impairments tied to transition-related assets, increasing near-term volatility and raising questions over asset valuations. Proactive: Q4 loss and impairments
• Negative Sentiment: Sector and leadership context — Weaker oil prices and peer weakness are pressuring margins; commentary notes the buyback pause comes ahead of a new CEO arrival, adding near-term strategic uncertainty. Barron’s: Buybacks suspended & CEO context

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank set a $41.00 price target on shares of BP in a report on Friday, January 16th. Evercore set a $38.00 target price on BP and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on BP from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Santander raised shares of BP to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.41.

BP Trading Down 6.0%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.02. The company has a market cap of $96.14 billion, a PE ratio of 63.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. BP had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm had revenue of $47.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of BP during the 2nd quarter valued at $87,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of BP by 7.6% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 35,056 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 2,470 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of BP by 32.3% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 19,253 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 4,699 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in BP during the second quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its stake in BP by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 485,409 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $14,528,000 after purchasing an additional 7,645 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BP Company Profile

BP plc is a British multinational integrated energy company headquartered in London. Originating in the early 20th century as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP has grown into one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, operating across exploration and production, refining and marketing, trading, and a range of low-carbon businesses.

The company’s core activities include upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream and trading operations, and downstream refining, marketing and supply of fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals.