If you're the type of investor who watches momentum indicators closely, a couple of energy stocks might be worth a second look as we close out the year. As of December 30, 2025, two names in the sector are sporting technical readings that historically suggest it might be time to pump the brakes.
The Relative Strength Index measures momentum by comparing how a stock performs on up days versus down days. It's a pretty straightforward concept: when the RSI climbs above 70, conventional wisdom says the stock is overbought and potentially due for a breather. It's not a crystal ball, but it can offer useful context alongside price movements.
Here's what's showing up on the radar in the energy space.
Tetra Technologies Inc
Tetra Technologies Inc. (TTI) is sitting at an RSI of 70.7 right now, just barely into overbought territory. The stock has been on a tear lately, climbing roughly 22% over the past month and hitting a 52-week high of $9.53.
Interestingly, this comes on the heels of some positive analyst attention. On December 11, CJS Securities analyst Jonathan Tanwanteng initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and slapped an $11.50 price target on the stock. So you've got bullish fundamental views colliding with stretched technical readings.
On Monday, shares edged up another 0.6% to close at $9.40. From a scoring perspective, the stock shows a momentum score of 98.37 and a value score of 69.30, which tells you pretty much what you'd expect: strong momentum, decent value characteristics, but maybe getting a little ahead of itself.
Gulf Island Fabrication Inc
Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. (GIFI) presents an even more dramatic picture with an RSI reading of 84.9. That's significantly overbought by any standard measure.
The stock has jumped about 14% in just the past five days alone, pushing it near its 52-week high of $12.00. Shares closed Monday at $11.94.
The recent rally follows the company's November 12 third-quarter earnings report, which showed mixed results. CEO Richard Heo put a positive spin on things, noting: "We delivered strong third-quarter results with revenue of $51.5 million and adjusted EBITDA of $2.5 million, despite softer trends in our services business, a decline in small-scale fabrication activity and anticipated losses from our recently acquired Englobal business."
That's a lot of "despites" for what management is calling strong results, which might explain why the stock needed a few weeks to digest the news before this recent pop.
For momentum-focused traders, these elevated RSI levels suggest caution might be warranted. Overbought doesn't automatically mean a stock will fall, but it does indicate that the easy gains may already be priced in. Sometimes the best trade is the one you don't make.
