Marathon Oil Corp Shares Crashes

Marathon Oil Corp. shares slid 4.57% to $12.52 Wednesday, on what proved to be an all-around favorable trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index SPX rising 0.12% to 4,374.30 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA rising 0.13% to 34,933.23.

Marathon Oil Corp. closed $1.81 short of its 52-week high ($14.33), which the company achieved on July 1st. The stock underperformed when compared to some of its competitors Wednesday, as Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM fell 2.22% to $59.53, Chevron Corp. CVX fell 1.89% to $101.97, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC ADR Cl A RDS.A fell 0.92% to $39.97.

Marathon Oil Corp trading volume (19.8 M) eclipsed its 50-day average volume of 18.0 M.This was the stock’s second consecutive day of losses. Marathon Oil share price had more than doubled in just one year – up 120%. It’s also good to see the share price up 15% over the last quarter. On the other hand, longer-term shareholders have had a tougher run, with the stock falling 39% in three years.

Marathon Oil shrunk its revenue over the last year, with a reduction of 34%. We’re a little surprised to see the share price pop 120% in the last year. This is a good example of how buyers can push up prices even before the fundamental metrics show much growth. Marathon Oil’s TSR for the last year was 123%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 123% over one year.