You have to love OPEC. It's not uncommon for the barons of the giant cartel to voice their interest in seeing oil at such-and-such a price.
Recently, OPEC reiterated its desire to see oil prices at $80 per barrel. This, they claim, is the price needed to spur additional investment in crude projects. Apparently, anything less will result in oil sitting idle in the ground.
But despite having a ton of power, OPEC has little control over the price of crude. The real power in the oil market is held by the trader and the ability to use massive amounts of leverage to take positions with small amounts of capital. Such a state led to the rise of $150 per barrel last summer and the resulting crash to $30 earlier this year.
Now we see speculation in the oil pits on the rise again. In a very short time, and without evidence of improvements in demand, oil prices have rocketed higher to a peak of more than $73 per barrel.
Coinciding with that increase in price, stocks of oil companies marched higher as well. In a market that has traded flat to negative for most of the year, the oil patch has been one of the best performing sectors.
Some individual oil stocks in the sector are up 50% or more. That is not pocket-change, folks, especially in a time when big returns are hard to come by. As such, it makes sense to pocket our profits now.
Here are five oil stocks to sell immediately. Click on each to learn more:
Stock #1: McDermott International (NYSE: MDR)
Stock #2: Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU)
Stock #3: Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE: DO)
Stock #4: Yanzhou Coal Mining (NYSE: YZC)
Stock #5: Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK)
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