Anadarko and Other Oil and Gas Operations Stocks Making Big Moves on December 24, 2012

On a bad day for the market, the Nasdaq has fallen 0.2%, the S&P 500 is down 0.3% and the Dow has decreased 0.4%.

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Cimarex (NYSE:XEC)	$5.11 billion	-3.2%
SM (NYSE:SM)	$3.56 billion	-2.7%
Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE:COG)	$10.69 billion	-1.7%
EQT (NYSE:EQT)	$8.99 billion	-1.6%
Anadarko (NYSE:APC)	$37.88 billion	-1.5%
Apache (NYSE:APA)	$31.3 billion	-1.4%
Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR)	$13.72 billion	-1.4%

Broker Summary: OptionsXpress Online Trading Platform

Cimarex (NYSE:XEC) has fallen 3.2% and is currently trading at $57.30 per share. This morning, the company's volume is 123,757 shares. This is 0.1 times the average daily volume.

SM (NYSE:SM) is trading at $52.52 per share, down 2.7%. At 118,020 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.1 times the average volume over the last three months.

At $50.01, Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE:COG) has slipped 1.7%. So far today, the company's volume is 297,137 shares.

EQT (NYSE:EQT) is down 1.6% to reach $59.17 per share. The company's volume is currently 330,615 shares for the day, on pace to finish the day below yesterday's volume of 2.8 million shares.

Slipping 1.5%, Anadarko (NYSE:APC) is currently trading at $74.69 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 681,813 shares. This is 0.2 times its average daily volume.

Apache (NYSE:APA) is trading at $78.87 per share, down 1.4%. The company's volume is currently 743,439 shares for the day, 0.2 times the current three-month average.

Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) is currently trading at a share price of $73.19, a 1.4% decline. The company is currently trading a volume of 187,909 shares.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. Paying close attention to the previous ratios will help you identify key times to adjust your strategy. Tools like valuation ratios and profit margins, however, are only as useful as the context you put them in; remember to take historical data and competitor performance into account.