Energy Stocks, Including Petrobas, Making Big Moves on November 21, 2012

The Nasdaq has remained steady, the S&P 500 has climbed 0.1% and the Dow has risen 0.2% after the morning's trading. The energy sector is the category of stocks that relate to producing or supplying energy. This sector includes companies involved in the exploration and development of oil or gas reserves, oil and gas drilling, or integrated power firms. Performance in the sector is largely driven by the supply and demand for worldwide energy. Energy producers will do very well during times of high oil and gas prices, but will earn less when the value of energy drops. Furthermore, this sector is sensitive to political events, which historically have driven changes in the price of oil.

These are the biggest movers in the Energy sector (XLE) (+0.4%):

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Bill (NYSE:BBG)	$894.2 million	-4%
PDC Energy (Nasdaq:PDCE)	$911.3 million	+3.6%
Tesoro (NYSE:TSO)	$5.63 billion	+2.8%
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (NYSE:PBR.A)	$81.51 billion	-2.3%
Calumet Specialty Products Partners (Nasdaq:CLMT)	$1.73 billion	+2.3%
Petrobas (NYSE:PBR)	$123.99 billion	-2.2%
CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI)	$3.6 billion	+2.2%

Broker Summary: OptionsXpress Online Trading Platform

Slipping 4%, Bill (NYSE:BBG) is currently trading at $17.82 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 1.3 million shares, 1.2 times its current daily average.

After rising 3.6%, PDC Energy (Nasdaq:PDCE) is currently trading at a share price of $31.18. The company is trading at a volume of 137,457 shares. This is on pace to fall short of yesterday's volume of 400,418 shares.

Rising 2.8%, Tesoro (NYSE:TSO) is currently trading at $41.20 per share. The company's volume is currently 1.2 million shares for the day, 0.4 times its current three-month average.

Falling 2.3%, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (NYSE:PBR.A) is currently at a share price of $18.16. So far today, the company's volume is 3.1 million shares.

Calumet Specialty Products Partners (Nasdaq:CLMT) has moved up 2.3% and is currently trading at $30.69 per share. At 65,498 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.1 times the current daily average.

Petrobas (NYSE:PBR) is currently trading at a share price of $18.59, a 2.2% decline. So far today, five million shares of the company's stock have changed hands. This is on pace to reach yesterday's trading volume of 9.5 million shares.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) is at $42.35 per share after an increase of 2.2%. The company's volume for the day so far is 104,370 shares, in keeping with its current three-month average.

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.