What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after rising oil prices boosted the energy sector following increased geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
The primary catalyst was the U.S. seizure of an Iranian vessel, which diminished hopes for a peace deal between the two nations. This event sparked concerns that Iran might retaliate by disrupting oil tanker routes, potentially constraining global supply. In response, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, surged by as much as 4.8% to over $94 per barrel.
The broader energy sector saw a lift, with other major oil and gas companies trading higher as investors anticipated that higher oil prices would lead to increased profitability for producers and service providers.
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 HighPeak Energy (NASDAQ: HPK) jumped 4.5%. Is now the time to buy HighPeak Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Mixed or Offshore Upstream E&P company Green Plains (NASDAQ: GPRE) jumped 4.7%. Is now the time to buy Green Plains? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Green Plains (GPRE)
Green Plains’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 53 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 19 days ago when the stock dropped 3.1% 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.
Green Plains is up 51.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $15.57 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $16.96 from April 2026. Despite the year-to-date gain, investors who bought $1,000 worth of Green Plains’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $658.99.
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