Why Quicksilver Resources' 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 oil and gas explorer Quicksilver Resources jumped 11% today after reporting earnings.

So what: Second-quarter revenue fell 19% to $121.1 million but that was partly due to asset sales. Net income was $242.5 million, or $1.37 per share, mostly due to the Tokyo Gas transaction. With out that the company lost $0.06 per share, which was $0.03 worse than estimates.

Now what: Quicksilver continues to struggle with low natural gas prices but investors are cheering the company's improved balance sheet today. Pushing out debt maturities and selling assets will give the company time to survive and see if it can generate some positive earnings as energy prices rise. This stock is still too risky for me, especially considering the leverage that could leave investors with huge gains or nothing at all.

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The article Why Quicksilver Resources' Shares Jumped originally appeared on Fool.com.

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