Level 3 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 fiber-optic network operator Level 3 Communications (NAS: LVLT) climbed 10% in intraday trading Wednesday, days after completing its acquisition of smaller rival Global Crossing Ltd.

So what: The deal should work to strengthen Level 3's core fiber-optic network business and increase its presence in Europe and Latin America. The company also has fresh growth hopes for its enterprise segment, with CEO James Crowe telling Reuters that it now has "1,000 sales people with the Global Crossing acquisition to sell that product not just to Netflix or Major League Baseball or HBO but to our entire market."

Now what: Expect more good things from Level 3. While the company competes with formidable foes like Akamai (NAS: AKAM) and Limelight Networks (NAS: LLNW) , Crowe says business is very good right now and that he hasn't felt any effects of the economic slowdown. So given that Level 3 shares are still down about 40% over the past three months, Mr. Market seems a lot more worried than he should be.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of and creating a bear put spread position in Netflix. 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 Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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