Why U.S. Silica Holdings Shares Jumped

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 silica producer U.S. Silica (NYS: SLCA) rose more than 10% today after the company was upgraded by an analyst.

So what: BB&T was the culprit today, initiating coverage on the stock with a buy rating. The company gave the stock a $17 price target, nearly a 50% increase from the current stock price.

Now what: We don't put a lot of stock in analyst ratings at The Motley Fool, and I wouldn't buy today just based on this buy rating. The stock's more important move was after the company released earnings two weeks ago that topped estimates. Shares are now trading at just six times forward earnings, and I think that will be the driver of the stock going forward, not how an analyst is rating the stock.

Interested in more info on U.S. Silica Holdings? Add it to your watchlist byclicking here.

The article Why U.S. Silica Holdings Shares Jumped originally appeared on Fool.com.

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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