Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $70.88, but opened at $66.50. Nabors Industries shares last traded at $66.95, with a volume of 103,895 shares changing hands.

Key Headlines Impacting Nabors Industries

Here are the key news stories impacting Nabors Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — Nabors swung to a Q4 profit, revenue grew year-over-year driven by International Drilling, and management gave an upbeat 2026 rig and cash-flow outlook, supporting near-term cash generation and operational momentum. Nabors’ Q4 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Increase Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Management emphasized strategic debt reduction and stronger cash flow — commentary on the earnings call highlighted actions and progress on reducing leverage, which investors typically view as de‑risking for a cyclical oilfield-services firm. Nabors Industries Ltd (NBR) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic Debt Reduction and …
• Positive Sentiment: Sell‑side analysts reacted with renewed interest — several analysts shared updated views after the print, highlighting the beat and guidance as reasons for constructive ratings or cautious upgrades. This analyst attention can amplify intraday buying. Breaking Down Nabors Industries: 6 Analysts Share Their Views
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings-call transcripts and summaries are available — they provide detail on segment performance and management’s assumptions, which investors will parse for sustainability of margins and capex plans. Use these to validate the upbeat takeaways. Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Media summaries and snapshots circulated after the call — useful for quick highlights but don’t replace the detail in the transcript for modeling 2026 cash flow and capex. Nabors: Q4 Earnings Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet and forward EPS risk remain — despite progress, Nabors still has relatively high leverage and analysts project a negative full‑year EPS for fiscal 2026, leaving shares exposed if cash flow underperforms or rig activity slows. Nabors Industries Earnings Call Highlights Debt Wins, Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed — while some praised the beat, others flagged uncertainty around sustaining margins, international dynamics, and the pace of deleveraging, which could cap upside until the balance sheet materially improves. Breaking Down Nabors Industries: 6 Analysts Share Their Views

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NBR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Nabors Industries in a report on Friday. Barclays set a $50.00 price objective on Nabors Industries and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group set a $70.00 target price on shares of Nabors Industries in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $77.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Nabors Industries in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Nabors Industries from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.13.

Nabors Industries Trading Up 6.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $988.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.93.

Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.93) by $3.10. Nabors Industries had a net margin of 8.92% and a negative return on equity of 17.63%. The company had revenue of $805.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.82 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($6.67) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Nabors Industries Ltd. will post -6.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nabors Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NBR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Nabors Industries by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 871,047 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,298,000 after acquiring an additional 13,424 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Nabors Industries by 25.0% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 750,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $21,015,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. increased its stake in shares of Nabors Industries by 54.2% in the second quarter. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. now owns 650,623 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,230,000 after purchasing an additional 228,787 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in Nabors Industries by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 499,147 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,104,000 after acquiring an additional 9,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC grew its position in Nabors Industries by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC now owns 491,795 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $20,100,000 after buying an additional 104,219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company’s stock.

About Nabors Industries

Nabors Industries Ltd. is a global oil and gas drilling contractor that provides land and offshore drilling rigs, drilling equipment and related services to energy companies around the world. The company’s operations span two core segments: drilling and evaluation, which includes land‐based and platform drilling rigs as well as wellbore survey services, and wellbore technologies, offering pressure control equipment, downhole tools and specialized maintenance services. Nabors’ integrated model combines rig operations with engineered products and field support, positioning it as a full‐service provider in the upstream sector.

The company maintains a diverse, modern fleet of automated and conventional drilling rigs and has pioneered advanced drilling technologies, including automated drilling controls and managed pressure drilling systems.