Why Are These 3 Energy Stocks Surging Today?

Energy XXI Ltd (NASDAQ:EXXI)

• Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 18
• Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $35.52 Million
• Percentage of Shares Owned by Investors: 14.30%

Energy XXI Ltd (NASDAQ:EXXI) is up by 9.65% today and 112.81% this week. We posed the question of whether shares had finally hit rock bottom back in July. Given the unappealing fundamentals of the company and the bearish sentiment of late among the smart money we follow, we determined that it was not the best bounce-back candidate, and indeed, shares continued to decline into late September, though the rally this week has pushed them back above where they were in early-July.

That will please the investors who did remain steadfast in their conviction regarding Energy XXI Ltd (NASDAQ:EXXI)’s potential, including most notably Mark McGoldrick and Jason Maynard’s Mount Kellett Capital Management, which had over 8% exposure to the stock in its public equity portfolio as of June 30, owning 5.92 million shares.

Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA)

• Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 21
• Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $109.23 Million
• Percentage of Shares Owned by Investors: 34.80%

Investors in our database were the most bullish on Penn Virginia Corporation (NYSE:PVA) when it comes to the hot energy stocks discussed in this article, owning greater than one-third of its outstanding shares, though ownership did fall from 26 on March 31. Penn Virginia has gained 10.38% today and 154.18% this week; not bad for a company we recently ranked as a penny stock poised to explode, with shares having gained over 37% since the publication of that article.

Among the many reasons to like the stock’s chances was the fact that George Soros’ family office retained its 6.00 million-share position throughout the second quarter, even as the stock struggled under the weight of declining oil prices. Several other prominent investors also made big purchases during that time, including Israel Englander, Kyle Bass, and Steve Cohen.

Disclosure: None