Here’s Why These Five Stocks Are in the Spotlight

Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE:OAS) and Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) are off by 7.4% and 5% respectively due to lower WTI prices. On account of OPEC’s inability to decide which country will cut by what amount in recent days, the price of the front-month WTI futures contract has fallen sharply, by around 2.6% to $47.40 per barrel from the previous $50 per barrel level. Lower oil prices mean less un-hedged revenue for both producers. It also means less opportunities to hedge future production at attractive prices. In addition, the merger between General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)’s oil and gas unit and Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI) might not be a positive, as more consolidation in the energy space could lead to higher service prices, which would potentially trim margins.

With that said, while the picture looks bleak for an OPEC agreement at the moment, the cartel will meet again in November to try and work out a deal. Bulls hope that the cartel can put aside its differences by that time. 41 funds in our database were long Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) at the end of June, while 33 were long Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE:OAS).

Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) shares are 2.1% in the green after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ and raised its price target on it to $45 from the previous $40 per-share mark. Analyst Paul Trussell thinks that the retailer’s margins could be better-than-expected and that the company could soon gain earnings momentum. In addition, Trussell likes Macy’s valuation, which looks cheap to him. Shares of Macy’s are up by around 5% year-to-date, but are down by 50% since the middle of July 2015. 57 funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned $1.14 billion worth of Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) stock at the end of June, which accounted for 11.00% of the float.

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