Energy Winners & Losers: Apache

Updated from 3:40 p.m. ET

Shares of oil and gas companies on Wednesday edged upward as crude oil prices made modest gains on Wall Street's rebound.

Wall Street bounced back Wednesday after IBM (IBM Quote) reported better-than-expected results and estimates. The company said it expects earnings for 2009 to beat Street expectations and that its fourth-quarter profit jumped 12%, easily topping analyst estimates.

Crude oil rose $3.22 to $44.06 a barrel in Wednesday afternoon trading, a slight boost to its long-depressed levels. The price of crude has shed 72% of its value since its summer peak of $147.27 and its prolonged price slump, along with the more modest slip in natural gas prices, has given shares of oil companies a beating these past several months.

Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM Quote), the world's largest publicly traded oil company, rose $2.97, or 3.9%, to $79.26. Occidental Petroleum (OXY Quote) shares rose $4.91, or 9.7%, to $55.79. Shares of the country's biggest gas producer, Chesapeake Energy (CHK Quote) rose $1.39, or 10.1%, to $15.13. Shares of Schlumberger (SLB Quote), the U.S. oil services giant, rose $2.16, or 5.9%, to $38.99.

John Freeman, an analyst with Raymond James, warned of a dismal outlook for energy companies over the next several months, due to suppressed and volatile oil and gas prices coupled with the global financial meltdown. In addition, he expects to hear more announcements of capital spending cuts, considering the current price outlook and marginal returns of current industry activity.

"We do not see compelling economic fundamentals that will drive outperformance from the group as a whole," Freeman said.