Five months ago, British energy major BP was firmly in the spotlight as a prime takeover candidate. Now, not so much.

Shares of the London-listed oil giant have climbed more than 32% since early April, outperforming many of its U.S. and European rivals.

The improving sentiment can be attributed to a range of factors, including BP's fundamental strategic reset , a leadership shake-up , progress on its cost-cutting program and a string of recent oil discoveries .

It marks a stark contrast to earlier in the year, when BP found itself to be the subject of intense takeover speculation , with British rival Shell , UAE oil giant ADNOC and U.S. majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron all among the names touted as possible suitors.

BP CEO Murray Auchin

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