BP share price continued its strong bull run last week as it reached its highest level since April 2024, continuing a recovery that started in April when it bottomed at 315p. It is slowly nearing the all-time high of 496p as the company prepares its financial results on Tuesday.
Why BP share price is in a strong bull run
BP, the giant oil and gas company, has done well in the past few months, helped by the ongoing crude oil recovery as investors predict that Donald Trump will attack Iran in the near term. Data shows that Brent, the global benchmark, rose to $67 from the year-to-date low of $58. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the American benchmark, rose to $63 from the year-to-date low of $55.
BP has also benefited from the ongoing interest by activist investors who believe that the company can unlock its value by using some key strategies. The most prominent one is Elliot Management, which successfully pushed the company to move away from its aggressive investment in green energy. Elliot owns about 5% of the company.
BP share price also jumped as investors reacted to its potential acquisition target, which involved a company like Shell. Additionally, it recently announced a management change, with the board appointing Meg O’Neil to become the next Chief Executive from Australia’s Woodside Energy.
BP is also seeking to benefit from the recent Nicholas Maduro ouster in Venezuela. The company, together with Shell, is seeking licenses to extract natural gas from fields in Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
The company is also slashing its investments in the highly unprofitable clean energy and focusing on the oil and gas industries. Its plan is to invest an additional $1.5 billion in the industry, while reducing its clean energy investments by about $5 billion.
The next key catalyst for the BP share price will be the upcoming earnings, which will come out on Tuesday this week.
Analysts believe that the company’s revenue and profits will come out lower than expected, as other large names like Shell, ExxonMobil, and Chevron reported. ExxonMobil’s net profit dropped by 14% last year, while Shell’s profit dropped to $3.26 billion, missing the average estimate of $3.51 billion.
BP stock price technical analysis
The weekly timeframe chart shows that the BP stock price has rebounded in the past few months, moving from a low of 315p in April last year to the current 480p.
BP stock moved above the important resistance level at 470p, its highest level on November 10, its highest swing in November. Moving above that level invalidated the double-top pattern.
The stock has remained below the 50-week and 100-week Exponential Moving Averages (EMA). It also formed an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern, a common bullish continuation sign in technical analysis.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the MACD indicators have continued rising in the past few weeks, with the former nearing the overbought level of 70. Therefore, the most likely scenario is where it continues rising as bulls target the key resistance level at 500p.
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