Gran Tierra Energy Shares Plunged: 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 Gran Tierra Energy (NYS: GTE) fell 10% today after the company released a progress report on drilling programs in South America.

So what: Initial drilling results in Colombia were disappointing according to CEO Dana Coffield. The Rumiyaco-1 exploration well reached 10,648 feet only to find non-commercial hydrocarbons. Drilling in Brillante SE-2 also revealed no oil and was plugged.

Now what: For a small company like this, drilling dry wells is never good news. Shares have bounced back from the bottom and are now trading down just 6%, but I wouldn't buy into the bounce. I'd like to see improved drilling results and a string of strong earnings before jumping into this stock.

Interested in more info on Gran Tierra Energy? 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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