What happened Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ: PTEN) fell as much as 11.4% in trading Thursday after the company reported fourth-quarter 2020 financial results. Shares of the energy stock bounced near their low of the day early in the afternoon and were down 10.2% at 1:55 p.m. EST. So what Quarterly revenue plunged a whopping 55.1% to $220.8 million in the fourth quarter, and net loss was $106.5 million, or $0.57 per share. Analysts were expecting a $0.62 loss per share on $218.1 million in revenue. Image source: Getty Images. It's no surprise that oil and gas drilling fell dramatically in 2020 as energy consumption declined because of the pandemic. But management indicated that the recovery in energy markets will be somewhat slow, with five of 69 rigs expected to be contracted but idle in the first quarter. Now what Oil prices have recovered from their lows in spring of 2020, but there's still a lot of uncertainty ahead. Oil demand in the U.S. is still weak because fewer people are commuting and economic activity has slowed. What I worry about is the emergence of electric vehicles as a long-term threat to energy markets, which could decrease the need for more oil wells and continue to hurt companies like Patterson-UTI long term. 10 stocks we like better than Patterson-UTI EnergyWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Patterson-UTI Energy wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of November 20, 2020 Travis Hoium has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source