ConocoPhillips Slides as Oil Pulls Back and Fresh Company-Specific Catalyst Appears Limited

ConocoPhillips (COP) is down 4.2% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: A clear company-specific catalyst for today’s selloff is not obvious, so the move appears tied mainly to macro pressure in energy markets. This could be because crude prices eased after a large reported U.S. inventory build, which can quickly weigh on exploration and production stocks such as ConocoPhillips.

Details:

Brent crude was lower on September 16, 2026, as oil prices retreated after a recent rally, creating a softer backdrop for upstream producers.

Energy investors were also digesting industry data pointing to a sizable increase in U.S. crude inventories, a development that can pressure near-term commodity expectations.

ConocoPhillips does not appear to have released a new earnings update or major strategic announcement today; its most recent notable disclosures were second-quarter results in August and a leadership succession announcement effective September 1.

The company previously guided to third-quarter 2026 production of about 2.29 million to 2.32 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, so today’s drop looks more related to sentiment and commodity moves than to a newly disclosed operating shortfall.

Sources:

ConocoPhillips, SEC, Associated Press, MarketScreener

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$COP Insider Trading Activity

$COP insiders have traded $COP stock on the open market 7 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 7 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $COP stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

RYAN MICHAEL LANCE (Chairman and CEO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 620,021 shares for an estimated $79,518,983.
KELLY BRUNETTI ROSE (SVP & General Counsel) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 22,700 shares for an estimated $3,018,936.
ANDREW D LUNDQUIST (Senior Vice President) sold 9,487 shares for an estimated $1,282,168
NICHOLAS G OLDS (Executive Vice President) sold 6,994 shares for an estimated $888,650
SHARMILA MULLIGAN sold 1,974 shares for an estimated $234,906

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

$COP Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 1,124 institutional investors add shares of $COP stock to their portfolio, and 1,307 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

SIXTH STREET PARTNERS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, L.P. added 41,476,189 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $4,311,864,608
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO added 38,047,399 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $3,955,407,600
FISHER ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC removed 14,277,591 shares (-93.8%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $1,484,298,360
CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC added 3,564,622 shares (+9.4%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $370,578,103
T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. added 3,098,953 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $322,167,153
BOSTON PARTNERS added 2,740,260 shares (+40.5%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $284,877,429
BLACKROCK, INC. added 2,712,703 shares (+3.0%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $282,012,603

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$COP Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $COP in the last several months. We have seen 2 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Roth Capital issued a "Buy" rating on 06/22/2026
Morgan Stanley issued a "Overweight" rating on 05/22/2026

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $COP, check out Quiver Quantitative's $COP forecast page.

$COP Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $COP recently. We have seen 10 analysts offer price targets for $COP in the last 6 months, with a median target of $146.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Gabe Daoud from Truist Securities set a target price of $115.0 on 07/08/2026
Josh Silverstein from UBS set a target price of $143.0 on 07/08/2026
Nitin Kumar from Mizuho set a target price of $146.0 on 07/07/2026
Devin McDermott from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $146.0 on 06/29/2026
Leo Mariani from Roth Capital set a target price of $130.0 on 06/22/2026
Betty Jiang from Barclays set a target price of $155.0 on 05/26/2026
Betty Zhang from Scotiabank set a target price of $125.0 on 04/22/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.