We recently compiled a list of the 10 Stocks Defy Market Optimism as Investor Caution Lingers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) stands against the other stocks.

The stock market stood its ground on Wednesday, with all major indices eking out gains as President Donald Trump softened trade restrictions for three large automakers, reviving hopes that the trade war may not be as bad as it seemed.

The Dow Jones grew 1.14 percent, the S&P 500 rose by 1.12 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.46 percent.

On Wednesday, the White House granted three large automakers a one-month exemption from tariffs after a call with the president, sending their share prices higher during the session.

Ten firms, however, bucked an overall optimism, recording modest declines during the past trading session. In this article, we have listed the 10 names and detailed the reasons behind their performance.

To come up with Wednesday’s worst performers, we considered only the stocks with $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.

A drilling site in the wilds of nature, highlighting the company's commitment to exploration.

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) dropped to a new all-time low on Wednesday, touching the $7.07 share price before gaining momentum towards the close to end the day just down by 2.8 percent at $7.30 apiece.

Despite posting net losses last year, Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN), an oil and gas drilling services company, still received an optimistic outlook from Zacks Research late last month.

According to the investment firm, the oil and gas company is expected to earn up to $0.04 per share for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, higher than the $0.02 estimate.

For the full year, however, Zacks expects earnings per share to settle at -$0.10.

In its latest earnings release, Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) swung to a $51.58 million net loss attributable to shareholders in the last quarter of 2024, a reversal from the $61.95 million net income in the same period a year earlier.

It also dived to a net loss of $968 million last year from a $246.3-million net income in 2023.

Overall PTEN ranks 10th on our list of Wednesday's worst performers. While we acknowledge the potential of PTEN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PTEN but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

 

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  Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at  Insider Monkey.