Analysts Upgrade to 'Buy' but Oil Stocks Lose $300 Million in Market Cap Overnight

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE: MUR) shares plunged 6.15% to close at $36.45 on May 15 on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume surged to about 1.04 million shares—well above the norm—erasing roughly $300 million (₩420 billion) of market value in a single day and bringing the company’s total market capitalization down to approximately $5.2 billion (₩7.3 trillion).

In its first-quarter results, Murphy Oil reported average daily production of 174,000 barrels of oil and gas—surpassing the high end of its guidance—and net income of $53 million. In April, the company reaffirmed its quarterly dividend at $0.35 per share, and since May, leading brokerages such as KeyBanc have repeatedly raised their price targets into the mid-$40 range, maintaining a favorable analyst outlook.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Murphy Oil is an independent exploration and production (E&P) company operating a diversified portfolio that includes the Eagle Ford Shale; Canada’s Tupper Montney and Kaybob Duvernay; the Gulf of Mexico; Vietnam; and Côte d’Ivoire. Founded in 1950, the mid-sized E&P firm has built expertise in both upstream and downstream development and is now positioning its offshore projects in Vietnam and West Africa as its next growth drivers.