Kronos Worldwide Shares Soared: 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: On Wednesday, for no particular reason (none that anyone knows about, at least), shares of titanium dioxide producer Kronos Worldwide (NYS: KRO) suddenly spiked 12%.

So what: What caused the spike? I'm not exactly sure. Shares of parent company Valhi (NYS: VHI) were mostly unchanged in Wednesday trading, so that doesn't seem related. Allegheny Tech (NYS: ATI) , a supplier of titanium airplane parts, re-upped a supply agreement with Boeing (NYS: BA) -- but this, too, seems a red herring. Yes, Kronos and Allegheny both deal in titanium. But Kronos uses smaller amounts to produce pigments and other specialty chemicals -- not solid, functioning airplane parts.

Best guess? Investors are following the lead of Kronos CEO Steve Watson, who filed a disclosure with the SEC yesterday confirming his purchase of 5,000 shares of his company's stock.

Now what: Whatever the spark was that ignited a fire under Kronos' stock, I suspect that buying the shares is as good an idea today as it was when I pronounced Kronos a bargain back in August. According to Yahoo! Finance, Kronos shares cost only about nine times earnings today, while the stock is pegged for 20% annual growth over the next five years. To me, that sounds like a bargain.

Wondering if Rich is right about that?Add Kronos Worldwide to your Fool Watchlistand find out.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorRich Smithdoes not own (or short) shares of any company named above. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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