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Nabors (NBR) Soars 11%: Is Further Upside Left in the Stock?

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Nabors Industries (NBR - Free Report) shares soared 11% in the last trading session to close at $134.28. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 26.1% loss over the past four weeks.

 Nabors Industries stock ended sharply higher on the last trading day, driven by optimism over oil prices spurred by curbs on Russia, plus a demand spike owing to the reopening of economies and a rebound in activity. The steady increase in crude prices to over $100 a barrel has lifted the onshore contract drilling space and contributed to the strength in the company.

This drilling contractor is expected to post quarterly loss of $6.83 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +62.1%. Revenues are expected to be $620.01 million, up 26.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Nabors, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.6% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on NBR going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Nabors is a member of the Zacks Oil and Gas - Drilling industry. One other stock in the same industry, Patterson-UTI (PTEN - Free Report) , finished the last trading session 8.4% higher at $15.77. PTEN has returned -25.4% over the past month.

Patterson-UTI's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed +10.5% over the past month to -$0.03. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +94.4%. Patterson-UTI currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).


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