The Royal Dutch Shell share price dropped steeply in Thursday’s trading session after it reported an earnings miss in its quarterly earnings report.
Royal Dutch Shell’s profits adjusted earnings soared on the back of recovering crude oil and natural gas prices from $955 million in Q3 2020 to $4.13 billion in Q3 2021 but fell short of estimates of $5.4 billion. The oil major posted an underlying loss of $447 million, taking a $5.2billion derivatives book charge and a $300 million impairment cost.
The call by activist investor Dan Loeb to splinter the company to increase value for shareholders was another sire point for the stock on Thursday.
The news allowed for some profit-taking on the stock, which had been firing on all cylinders as rising natural gas and coal prices attracted heavy demand for the stock. The Royal Dutch Shell share price is down 3.47% as of writing.
The decline in the share price is part of a correction following the completion of the measured move from the ascending triangle’s breakout. The slide is now challenging support at the 1713.4 support. A breakdown of this level opens the door for the bears to drive towards 1628.2. The 29 September low at 1587.0 constitutes another support mark to the south.
On the flip side, recovery in the Royal Dutch Shell share price depends on price topping 1785.4, with 1833.4 becoming the new target. Ahead, 1914.6 becomes an additional target to the north if the price advance continues.
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This post was last modified on Oct 28, 2021, 18:10 BST 18:10