Why ConocoPhillips Stock Dropped on Friday

By Rich Smith – Apr 17, 2026 at 11:04AM ESTKey PointsIran just opened the Strait of Hormuz... maybe?President Trump says the blockade on Iran remains in effect.Oil investors today are accenting the positive... by selling oil stocks.The Strait of Hormuz is open for business! That's good news for many investors, and the S&P 500 is up 1% as of 10:20 a.m. ET. It doesn't seem to be very good news for ConocoPhillips (COP 6.41%) stock, however. Shares of the oil giant fell 6.6% as investors began pricing in the prospect of lower oil prices. Image source: Getty Images. Why is oil getting cheaper? Oil prices took a huge bath, with WTI and Brent crude oil both falling 11%. WTI il is selling for just over $84 a barrel, and Brent costs less than $89. That's not cheap -- just a few months ago, you could buy a barrel of Brent for $60. But it's a whole lot cheaper than a couple weeks ago, when Brent seemed on a collision course with $110! Thank (or blame) President Trump and Iran for the price collapse. This morning, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi confirmed the Strait of Hormuz is now open for "all commercial vessels" and for the duration of the ceasefire announced between Israel and Lebanon. In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran. -- Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 17, 2026 On Truth Social, President Trump quickly confirmed that the Strait is open, that Iran is in the process of removing its mines... but that this is "not tied" to the truce in Lebanon, and the U.S. blockade on ships traveling to Iran remains in effect. ExpandNYSE: COPConocoPhillipsToday's Change(-6.41%) $-7.79Current Price$113.78Key Data PointsMarket Cap$149BDay's Range$112.22 - $116.2352wk Range$84.28 - $135.87Volume182KAvg Vol9.7MGross Margin24.63%Dividend Yield2.67% What this means for ConocoPhillips stock Confusing? Absolutely. Contradictory? Pretty much. But investors are reading the tea leaves today and concluding the conflict in Iran is nearing an end, and oil may soon resume flowing from the Persian Gulf. That's good news for oil prices, but bad news for Conoco stock, which at 19 times earnings but only a 12% projected long-term growth rate, is suddenly looking a little pricey.Read NextApr 14, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloBest Energy Stocks for 2026 and How to InvestApr 7, 2026 •By Lou WhitemanBest Oil Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in ThemApr 7, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloWhy ConocoPhillips Stock Rocketed More Than 16% in MarchApr 5, 2026 •By Lyle DalyThe Largest Energy Companies by Market Cap in April 2026Apr 2, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloBest Oil ETFs for 2026 and How to InvestApr 1, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloMeet Bab el-Mandeb: How This Oil Chokepoint Could Send Crude Prices Even Higher.About the AuthorRich Smith is a contributing Motley Fool defense and stock market analyst covering publicly traded and emerging companies in defense, space, aerospace, and other sectors. Prior to The Motley Fool, Rich practiced international corporate law for Clifford Chance in Russia, and for the Russian-Ukrainian Legal Group in Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington, D.C. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the College of William & Mary, a law degree from the University of Baltimore, and a language certification from the International Institute of Russian Language & Culture in Tver, Russian Federation. The Globe and Mail once featured him as “one of the best stock pickers since 2009.”TMFDittyX@RichSmithFoolStocks MentionedConocoPhillipsNYSE: COP$113.84(-6.36%)-$7.73*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.