Whiting Petroleum Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Whiting Petroleum (NYS: WLL) fell 10% today and trading volume spiked after the company released earnings.

So what: Revenue jumped 27% to $481.2 million, beating estimates of $472.8 million from analysts. Adjusted earnings per share were in line with expectations at $1.02 per share.

Now what: The move is a little mysterious considering the earnings report was actually slightly better than expected. The company did increase full year capital expenditure forecast to $1.6 billion from $1.35 billion, but that's usually a sign a company is expecting more growth. Shares have recovered slightly since opening lower, and I think the initial move was overdone.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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