Price volatility provides opportunities for traders to make handsome profits (or losses), so we took a look at midcap exploration and production equities based in the US that exhibited above-average volatility year to date.

These stocks have been at least 1.5 times as volatile as the overall market: Whiting Petroleum, with a market cap of $9.23 billion, and Athlon Energy with a market cap of $5.67 billion. These company’s share price volatility is likely the result of recent M&A activity.

Whiting is a major Bakken producer with additional operations in Colorado and Texas. Whiting announced in July that it’s acquiring Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp for $3.8 billion, a deal that will see Whiting surpass Continental Resources as the largest Bakken producer.

It was just announced that Encana is acquiring “all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Texas-based Athlon by means of an all-cash tender offer for US$5.93 billion (US$58.50 per share), as well as Encana assuming Athlon’s US$1.15 billion of senior notes, for a total transaction value of approximately US$7.1 billion.”