Alpha Natural Resources 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 coal miner Alpha Natural Resources (NYS: ANR) jumped 13% today after the company released a stellar earnings report.

So what: Revenue jumped to $2.3 billion, driven by the company's merger with Massey Energy. But the bottom line was truly impressive: Alpha reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.35, crushing the $0.04 analysts had expected.

Now what: Alpha's shares have been on a roller coaster, falling 11% earlier this week as talks in Europe fell apart. But this earnings report showed strong demand, especially out of China, and should ease the fears investors have had recently. I think this is very bullish for coal producers and Alpha in particular as demand continues to grow in emerging markets like China and India.

Interested in more info on Alpha Natural Resources? 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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