Matador Resources Company’s MTDR shares have jumped 60.6% year to date (YTD) compared with the industry’s 37.1% growth. The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2023 in the past 30 days.Let’s delve into the factors behind the stock’s price appreciation.What’s Favoring the Stock?The price of West Texas Intermediate crude, trading at more than the $70 per barrel mark, is still favorable for exploration and production activities. Overall, handsome oil prices are a boon for Matador’s upstream operations. This is because the company has a strong presence in oil-rich core acres of the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin. The company has been witnessing growing production while costs are declining. This reflects MTDR’s efficient operations.For 2022, the upstream energy player expects total production of 37.7-38.3 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoE), higher than 31.5 MMBoE in 2021.On another positive note, Matador plans to turn to sales a net of 71 wells this year, including operated and non-operated wells. Among the prime priorities that MTDR has set for this year are lowering debt levels, delivering free cashflows and maintaining or increasing dividends.Although MTDR’s overall business is exposed to extreme volatility in oil prices, plenty of room is left for the company to witness further gain in its stock price.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchStocks to ConsiderBetter-ranked players in the same space include Marathon Petroleum Corporation MPC, Precision Drilling Corporation PDS and NexTier Oilfield Solutions Inc. NEX. All the stocks carry a Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Marathon Petroleum is a well-known name in the downstream space and is the operator of the largest refining system in the nation. It has a strong focus on returning capital to shareholders. Over the past 30 days, Marathon Petroleum has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2022 and 2023.Precision Drilling is a well-known name in the energy space for providing its clients access to an extensive fleet of Super Series drilling rigs. Its services also include offering well service rigs. With high commodity prices, demand for PDS’ drilling rigs was probably favorable, leading the stock to skyrocket 110.7% year to date.NexTier Oilfield Solutionsis also a well-known U.S. land oilfield service player. With higher exploration and production by upstream companies, demand for NexTier Oilfield’s diverse set of well completion and production services was probably handsome. So far this year, the Zacks #2 Ranked stock gained more than 160%. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time. This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Precision Drilling Corporation (PDS): Free Stock Analysis Report Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC): Free Stock Analysis Report Matador Resources Company (MTDR): Free Stock Analysis Report NexTier Oilfield Solutions Inc. (NEX): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research