Why MBIA Shares Soared

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 mortgage insurer MBIA (NYS: MBI) climbed 11% today after the company settled a lawsuit in which hedge fund Aurelius Capital Management LP claimed that the 2009 split of MBIA's bond-insurance business hurt its debtholders while benefiting stock investors.

So what: While terms of the settlement weren't immediately disclosed to the public, the news removes another bit of uncertainty surrounding MBIA shares. "The settlement of this case is another important step toward resolving all of the litigation contesting our transformation," MBIA spokesman Kevin Brown said.

Now what: Expect the momentum to continue in the short term. If the Aurelius news wasn't good enough, Wall Street analyst MKM Partners believes there's a good chance that Bank of America, Societe Generale, and Nataxis may also settle their lawsuits with MBIA ahead of next Friday's pretrial hearing. With the stock still down about 25% over the past three months, short-term speculators might even have some room to bet on that optimism.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Fool owns shares of Bank of America. 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 Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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