Emdeon Shares Popped: 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 Emdeon (NYS: EM) jumped 10% today as rumors swirled that the company is a buyout target.

So what: According the New York Post, the company will be purchased by private equity firm The Blackstone Group (NYS: BX) for around $3 billion. No official word has come out from the company, but it will likely be forced to respond after the market closes. Emdeon describes itself as "a leading provider of revenue and payment cycle management and clinical information exchange solutions, connecting payers, providers and patients in the U.S. healthcare system."

Now what: I never like speculating on a buyout deal, so buying into news like this is risky. I'd like to wait and see what Emdeon has to say. Until then, I'm going to stay out of the gambling game because there's no firm way to know where the stock goes from here.

Interested in more info on Emdeon? Add it to your watchlist.

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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