Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of ConocoPhillips Call Options (NYSE:COP)

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 257,631 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,152% compared to the typical daily volume of 20,581 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,152,410. The trade was a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,352 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,370 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,570 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,018 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,160 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Extraordinary call buying: traders purchased ~257,631 COP call options today (a ~1,152% jump versus typical daily call volume), signaling aggressive bullish/speculative positioning that can prop the stock in the short term.
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwind: energy remains the top-performing sector in 2026 and COP has delivered strong YTD gains versus the market — this macro strength provides downside support and investor appetite for COP. Chevron vs ConocoPhillips
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage and price targets: multiple buy/outperform ratings and a median 6‑month target near $115 provide a reference point for upside, but targets vary materially across firms. Quiver Quantitative
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic growth vs local pressures: management is weighing Norway gas expansion, which is long-term growth positive, while facing new union dynamics in Alaska that could raise near-term costs — mixed implications. ConocoPhillips Weighs Norway Gas Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational note: a rig collapse in Alaska reportedly won’t change drilling plans, suggesting limited immediate production disruption. Rig collapse—no impact to Alaska plans
• Negative Sentiment: Disappointing Q4 2025 results: revenue, gross profit, operating profit, net income and EPS all fell materially year-over-year (EPS down ~38% to $1.17), pressuring sentiment and giving investors a concrete earnings-based reason for the pullback. Q4 2025 results
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Ryan Lance recorded a large sale (~500k shares) in the last six months; sizable insider disposals tend to weigh on investor confidence. Insider trading details
• Negative Sentiment: Labor developments: North Slope workers voted to unionize, introducing potential for higher labor costs or disruptions that investors will watch closely. North Slope union vote

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP opened at $108.80 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $112.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.02 and its 200-day moving average is $94.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 0.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.00%.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.