PulteGroup Shares Surged: 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 homebuilders -- and PulteGroup (NYS: PHM) in particular -- surged higher in trading today on hopes that homebuilders have hit bottom. At the peak, PulteGroup's shares were up nearly 12% from yesterday's close.

So what: After Toll Brothers (NYS: TOL) reported earnings on Wednesday, homebuilders have started to move higher the past few days. Today, after trading lower to start the day, buyers came in and bought Toll, PulteGroup, and KB Home (NYS: KBH) on hopes that they've bottomed out. All three of the stocks moved in lockstep with each other, so this is just a broad move for the sector as a whole.

Now what: Housing has to bottom out sometime, right? Today, TheStreet.com made the argument that a contrarian approach is the way to go, and that homebuilders are a great buy. But fellow Fool Rick Munarriz thinks caution is still in order. Only time will tell who is right, but I would tread cautiously today. Toll Brothers reported a profit this week, but it wasn't terribly impressive. This bounce by PulteGroup and others could be more of a dead-cat bounce. Buyer beware!

Interested in more info on PulteGroup? 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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