Oil Stocks Rise on Venezuela Developments: 6 Underperformers That Could Be Stronger Investments.

Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst

DVN+0.96%

TRGP+3.12%

FANG+0.72%

Source: Barron's

Updated: Jan 06 2026

0mins

Source: Barron's

Oil Stocks Surge: Several oil stocks, including Chevron, SLB, and Halliburton, experienced significant gains of over 5% on Monday.
U.S. Involvement in Venezuela: The increase in stock prices is attributed to the U.S.-initiated regime change in Venezuela, which is expected to open opportunities for these companies.
Rebuilding Energy Sector: The mentioned companies are poised to profit from the potential rebuilding of Venezuela's energy sector with support from the U.S. government.
Market Reaction: The market reacted positively to the news, reflecting investor confidence in the profitability of these oil companies in the context of the changing political landscape in Venezuela.

DVN

$39.83+Infinity%1D

Analyst Views on DVN

Wall Street analysts forecast DVN stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for DVN is 43.25 USD with a low forecast of 35.00 USD and a high forecast of 55.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

21 Analyst Rating

17 Buy

4 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 39.450

Low

35.00

Averages

43.25

High

55.00

Current: 39.450

Low

35.00

Averages

43.25

High

55.00

Wells Fargo

NULL -> Overweight

maintain

$37 -> $43

2026-01-27

New

Reason

Wells Fargo

Price Target

$37 -> $43

AI Analysis

2026-01-27

New

maintain

NULL -> Overweight

Reason

Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Devon Energy to $43 from $37 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The oil macro remains pressured, with downside-skewed fundamentals as rising OPEC supply and strong non-OPEC growth point to a near-term surplus and continued price pressure, Wells notes. Amid a softer macro, the firm favors low-reinvestment, capital-disciplined frameworks, with 2026 plans broadly stable across the group.

Susquehanna

Charles Minervino

Positive

maintain

$42 -> $45

2026-01-26

New

Reason

Susquehanna

Charles Minervino

Price Target

$42 -> $45

2026-01-26

New

maintain

Positive

Reason

Susquehanna analyst Charles Minervino raised the firm's price target on Devon Energy to $45 from $42 and keeps a Positive rating on the shares. The firm updated targets in the exploration and production group as part of a Q4 preview. The oil market remains oversupplied following the unwinding of OPEC's voluntary production cuts, which will put downward pressure on pricing when paired with soft demand growth globally, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Susquehanna dropped its 2026 West Texas Intermediate price assumption to $60 per barrel from $65. It remains bullish on long-term demand story for natural gas as well as growing power demand from data centers and electrification.

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Morgan Stanley

Devin McDermott

Overweight

downgrade

$48 -> $46

2026-01-23

Reason

Morgan Stanley

Devin McDermott

Price Target

$48 -> $46

2026-01-23

downgrade

Overweight

Reason

Morgan Stanley analyst Devin McDermott lowered the firm's price target on Devon Energy to $46 from $48 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm marked its 2026-27 oil price deck for strip as of January 7 in conjunction with its Q4 preview for the E&Ps, oil majors and Canadian producers. The firm expects "fairly clean" Q4 operational updates but lighter cash flow from price realizations, the analyst tells investors in the preview.

Barclays

Equal Weight

maintain

$40 -> $42

2026-01-21

Reason

Barclays

Price Target

$40 -> $42

2026-01-21

maintain

Equal Weight

Reason

Barclays raised the firm's price target on Devon Energy to $42 from $40 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm adjusted ratings and targets in the exploration and production group as part of a Q4 preview. The upstream sector's cash return model "remains resilient" amid macro volatility, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Barclays see attractive opportunities in U.S. onshore. It tells investors to "tread carefully" through the near-term commodity uncertainty.

About DVN

Devon Energy Corporation is an oil and gas producer in the United States with a diversified multi-basin portfolio headlined by an acreage position in the Delaware Basin. The Company is primarily engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). It owns a portfolio of assets located in the Delaware Basin, Rockies, Eagle Ford and Anadarko Basin. The Delaware Basin operates in southeast New Mexico and across the state line into west Texas. It offers exploration and development opportunities from many geologic reservoirs and play types, including the oil-rich Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, Avalon and Delaware formations. Its Rockies development consists of its Williston Basin and Powder River Basin assets. The Eagle Ford operations are located in Texas' DeWitt and Karnes counties. The Anadarko Basin development is located in western Oklahoma. It has a joint venture with Dow to develop a portion of its Anadarko Basin acreage.

About the author

Emily J. Thompson

Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.