Empire Petroleum Director Buys $705K Shares Amid Stock Slump
The significant open-market purchase by director Phil E. Mulacek signals strong insider conviction as the energy company's stock trades near its 52-week low.
A director at Empire Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: EP) has made a substantial investment in the company, purchasing over $705,000 worth of shares on the open market in a move that signals strong internal confidence despite a protracted downturn in the company's stock.
Phil E. Mulacek, a director and significant shareholder, acquired 187,084 shares at an average price of $3.77, according to a Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The purchase represents a notable vote of confidence from a key insider at a time when Empire's stock is trading near its 52-week low of $2.80.
The size of the transaction is particularly noteworthy. The purchase is equivalent to more than four times the stock's recent average daily trading volume and represents approximately 0.67% of Empire Petroleum's roughly $105 million market capitalization. Such a large buy, executed at depressed price levels, is often interpreted by investors as a signal that leadership believes the company's shares are undervalued.
This purchase is not an isolated event but rather the latest in a series of acquisitions by Mulacek. Filings from September and October show a consistent pattern of accumulation, with the director purchasing tens of thousands of additional shares, underscoring a determined buying campaign throughout the stock's recent decline.
The insider buying contrasts sharply with the company's recent market performance and financial results. Empire Petroleum's stock has fallen over 20% in the last six months, pressured by weaker energy prices that have impacted its bottom line. For the second quarter of 2025, the company reported a net loss of $5.1 million, a significant reversal from the profits seen in the prior year, as revenue declined by nearly 32% year-over-year due to lower realized commodity prices.
This challenging financial backdrop makes Mulacek's aggressive buying more compelling. Insiders, who possess the most intimate knowledge of a company's operations and future prospects, often increase their holdings when they see long-term value that the broader market is overlooking. For Empire, this could relate to the underlying potential of its assets in the Permian Basin and other key U.S. oil regions.
Investors may be looking toward the company’s strategic initiatives for future growth. In August, Empire Petroleum secured a unanimous ruling from the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission to advance an enhanced oil recovery pilot project, a technology aimed at boosting production from existing wells. That same month, the company successfully completed a $2.5 million rights offering, shoring up its balance sheet.
Empire Petroleum is sparsely covered by Wall Street analysts, a common trait for small-cap energy producers. In the absence of formal analyst ratings and price targets, insider trading activity often becomes a more heavily weighted data point for investors attempting to gauge the company's trajectory.
With insider ownership already high at over 57%, Mulacek's latest purchase further aligns management's interests with those of shareholders. The move suggests that the director sees the current market pessimism as a buying opportunity, betting on a recovery in the energy sector or a successful execution of the company's operational strategy that has yet to be reflected in its share price.