RealD 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 RealD (NYS: RLD) jumped 12% today, a day after plunging like the company was going out of business.

So what: Something must have changed overnight, right? Well, not exactly, but there are some good reasons for the bounce today.

You could have interpreted RealD's earnings as good or bad depending on if you had rosy or skeptical 3-D glasses on last night, but today is just something we call a dead cat bounce. There were 7.3 million shares sold short as of mid-October, and after the drop yesterday both short-sellers and value hunters flooded the market.

Now what: I would take a close look at the earnings report to see if you really see value here. RealD has a great balance sheet, but earnings from 3-D theaters are choppy, and without a major TV partner the consumer business is at a bit of a standstill. There will be value in shares eventually. I'm just not sure I want to enter shark-infested waters with short-sellers and momentum investors swimming against me. RealD is a trader's dream right now, but Foolish long-term investors would be wise waiting until the stock settles down a bit.

Interested in more info on RealD? 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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