Patriot Coal Shares Jumped: 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 Patriot Coal (NYS: PCX) have surged 12% higher for a second straight day as coal stocks recover from their recent slump.

So what: Peter Ward, an analyst at Jefferies, helped fuel the recovery fire today when he said that stocks were due to bounce back. It looks like the disappointing production news the company announced last month has been priced in sufficiently, and investors looking for a rebound are now piling into the stock.

Now what: Energy stocks have been under pressure this week as oil prices fell, but coal stocks have taken the brunt of the market's fear for more than a month. An economic slowdown would mean less electricity consumption in an environment that has already seen that fall recently. I'm not buying into the move yet, but if the economy does start to recover, coal stocks will see a nice boost along with the rest of the market.

Interested in more info on Patriot Coal? Add it to your watchlist byclicking here.

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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