Shares in Occidental Petroleum (OXY) are in focus Monday after a regulatory filing released late Friday revealed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.Bꦐ) has added to its sizable stake in the oil and gas exp🅺loration and production company.

According to a Form 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:conglomerate purchased 2.6 million shares of Occidental Petroleum between Wednesday and Friday last week, taking its total stake in the company to 250.6 million shares valued at nearly $15 billion based on Friday’s $59.48 closing price.

The purchases, valued at roughly $153 million, give Berkshire 28% interest in the energy producer, through Buffett wrote in the 2023 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:shareholder letter that the investment firm has no interest in acquiring or managing the company. Rather, he pointed out that he particularly likes Occidental’s vast oil and gas holdings in the United States, as well as its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:carbon-capture initiatives, while also praising CEO Vicki Hollub’s leadership. 

The famed 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:value investor may have viewed Occidental’s recent 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:retracement of around 15% from its 2024 high as an opportunity to deploy some of Berkshire’s $189 billion 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cash pile to build its holdings in the company’s stock.

Berkshire’s latest purchase of Occidental Petroleum shares also coincides with the energy producer announcing last week that it had entered into a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:joint venture (JV) with the conglomerate’s energy unit to extract lithium, a metal used to produce batteries for electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and energy grid storage.

 Monitor These Two Key Levels

Occidental shares have remained entrenched within a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:trading range since January last year apart from a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:bull trap in early April this year, a chart pattern that traps investors who have taken long positions in the stock. More recently, the price has fallen below the closely watched 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:200-day moving average to the ⛎lower portion of the range on below-average vཧolume, potentially indicating slowing selling momentum.

However, if the stock continues to decline, investors should keep a close eye on the $56 level, an area where the price would likely find buying interest near the trading range’s lower 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:trendline. Conversely, on a move to the upside, monitor the range’s top trendline at $67.50 as a possible key 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:resistance area.

Occidental shares were up 1.2% at $59.96 about two hours before Monday's opening bell.

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