What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after Trump said a US-Iran deal could come in "two or three days," pulling energy equities sharply lower as investors priced out the conflict premium.
That narrative collapsed at midday when US Central Command confirmed an American Apache helicopter had gone down near the coast of Oman, and Trump said the US "must respond" to what he described as an Iranian attack over the Strait of Hormuz. Rather than a clean reversal, the helicopter incident created deeper uncertainty for the sector.
Oil prices might have recovered some losses on re-escalation risk, but a potential US military response introduces physical infrastructure risk across the Gulf that is harder to price than a headline ceasefire. The sector's net decline reflected a day where the bullish and bearish cases cancelled each other out, leaving investors unwilling to commit either way.
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:
- Oilfield Services company ProFrac (NASDAQ: ACDC) fell 5.2%. Is now the time to buy ProFrac? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- U.S. Shale E&P company HighPeak Energy (NASDAQ: HPK) fell 6.2%. Is now the time to buy HighPeak Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Mixed or Offshore Upstream E&P company Centrus Energy (NYSE: LEU) fell 5.2%. Is now the time to buy Centrus Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On HighPeak Energy (HPK)
HighPeak Energy’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 72 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 4 days ago when the stock dropped 7.6% on the news that energy stocks pulled back despite oil prices remaining structurally elevated, as WTI crude fell 1.76% to $91.40 a barrel (still more than 40% above year-ago levels).
The president said US-Iran talks were "progressing well" and reiterated he would be "honored" to meet Iran's supreme leader to make a deal, raising the possibility that Strait of Hormuz disruptions could ease faster than the market had priced. Energy stocks trade a risk premium derived from supply scarcity. If a ceasefire materializes, that premium unwinds sharply.
The stronger-than-expected jobs report added a second layer: higher interest rates increase the cost of capital for exploration and production companies carrying significant debt, compressing returns on future investment. Investors reduced exposure ahead of any deal announcement rather than waiting to react.
HighPeak Energy is up 64.6% since the beginning of the year, but at $7.36 per share, it is still trading 38.2% below its 52-week high of $11.90 from June 2025. Despite the year-to-date gain, investors who bought $1,000 worth of HighPeak Energy’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $772.69.
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