Quad/Graphics Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Updated

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 printing company Quad/Graphics (NYS: QUAD) started the week off hot, climbing 10% at the open.

So what: Shares spiked in the first 15 minutes of trading and again just before noon ET. It looks like buy orders took up all of the bids, and shares shot higher both times. Still, volume isn't higher than normal, and it doesn't take a big order to move shares considerably higher. The company announced the completion of an acquisition and a $100 million share buyback program last week, so investors are trying to digest just what that means for the company.

Now what: If this was the start of the company's buyback program, it certainly wasn't executed well. Orders as small as 5,000 shares have been responsible for most of the moves today, and the buyers are buying higher than they'd like.

The buyback and acquisition may sound like bullish signals, but with $1.5 billion in long-term debt and just $19.7 million in cash, they aren't moves I'm going to jump on.

Interested in more info on Quad/Graphics? 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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