Kinetik Holdings (KNTK) Gains Amid Interest from Western Midstream Partners

The share price of Kinetik Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNTK) surged by 9.68% between February 13 and February 20, 2026, putting it among the Energy Stocks that Gained the Most This Week.

Kinetik Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNTK) is the premier midstream operator in the Delaware Basin, providing gathering, compression, processing, transportation, and water management services.

Kinetik Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNTK) shot up on February 19 after a Financial Times report revealed that the company is considering a sale following an approach from the Occidental Petroleum-backed Western Midstream Partners. According to the report, Kinetik began plotting a sale process to test interest from both strategic and infrastructure buyers after WM approached in recent weeks. That said, the talks are still in their preliminary stages, and no formal acquisition offer has been made yet.

The Warren Buffett-backed Occidental owns about a third of Western Midstream as a legacy of its $57 billion acquisition of Anadarko in 2019. The strategic move comes as natural gas is widely considered among the top energy sources to power the ongoing AI boom, and pipeline operators will play a critical role in delivering this fuel to data centers.

While we acknowledge the potential of KNTK as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None.