-4.10% to $377.14 from $393.27
What moved VLO
- Jefferies downgraded Valero Energy to Hold from Buy, saying the refining sector’s risk-reward balance has shifted after a rally that has pushed shares up roughly 145% year-to-date.
- The downgrade cited concerns over stretched valuations following the sector’s strong run.
- Jefferies also flagged uncertainty around refining fundamentals, including the potential for a U.S. refined-product export ban.
Sources: Investing.com · TradingKey
-0.91% to $385.43 from $388.95
What moved VLO
- Diesel crack spreads have surpassed $100 per barrel, described as an all-time high for the key refining-margin indicator.
- Brent crude settled up 5.9% at $107.63 a barrel, its highest close since May, while WTI crude closed at $102.48, up 6.7%, as Middle East tensions restrict Strait of Hormuz traffic.
- Valero posted record adjusted quarterly earnings per share of $12.54 in its most recent results, up from $2.28 a year earlier, powered by wide refining margins.
Sources: The New York Times · Yahoo Finance · ad-hoc-news.de
+1.62% to $347.19 from $341.67
What moved VLO
- Marathon Petroleum, Valero and HF Sinclair have each gained more than 80% in 2026, versus an 11% gain for the S&P 500, as the WTI 3-2-1 crack spread neared $59 a barrel, nearly tripling since January.
- The S&P 500’s oil refining and marketing sub-industry group has jumped 104% this year and traded 41% above its 150-day moving average, a level reached only five times previously in the index’s history, with average six-month forward returns of -10.1% in those prior instances.
- Analysts noted that a durable ceasefire in the Middle East could push crack spreads, and refiner shares, sharply lower.
Sources: CNBC