IPC The Hospitalist 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 physician group practitioner IPC The Hospitalist (NAS: IPCM) fell as much as 14% after reporting worse than expected second-quarter earnings.

So what: Revenue increased 28% to $111.7 million while net profit improved 20% to $6.5 million, or $0.39 a share. Analysts were expecting $0.43 a share.

Now what: The magnitude of the selloff probably has more to do with history than the miss itself. According to Earnings.com, IPC hasn't come in below estimates in any quarter in at least three years. Is it the end of an era, or just a temporary hiccup? You tell me. Weigh in using the comments box below.

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