ATP Oil & Gas 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 ATP Oil & Gas (NAS: ATPG) jumped 18% today on positive analyst comments.

So what: Shares of ATP have been all over the place recently, but today they're jumping because Rodman & Renshaw LLC analyst Jeffrey P. Hayden thinks there's too much fear in the market about the company. Hayden said concerns that the company could file for bankruptcy are "overblown."

Now what: Hayden does have an outperform rating on the stock, so the positive comments shouldn't be surprising. However, ATP has been racking up big losses and burning through cash, and has a ton of debt on its balance sheet, so the concern is at least somewhat justified. The volatility alone is enough to keep me away from shares today.

Interested in more info on ATP Oil & Gas? 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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