Why Rosetta Resources' Shares Plunged

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 energy explorer Rosetta Resources dropped as much as 11% after the company reported earnings.

So what: Revenue for the fourth quarter rose 31% to $178.3 million but fell short of the $183 million analysts expected. On the bottom line, profit was $42.3 million, or $0.80 per share, but analysts were expecting $0.93 per share in profit.

Now what: Keep in mind that results were vastly improved from a year ago even if they did fall short of expectations. Shares are trading at just 11 times forward estimates and even if they're revised slightly lower investors are getting a reasonable deal given production growth. I think this is a short-term blip and shares will move higher as fundamentals continue to improve.

Interested in more info on Rosetta Resources? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.

The article Why Rosetta Resources' Shares Plunged originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.