Why Air Methods Shares Ballooned

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 Air Methods Corp. , a provider of air medical emergency transport services, rose as much as 17% after reporting its second-quarter earnings results.

So what: Last night's earnings report was certainly a mixed bag, so follow along and you'll find out exactly why shares are up so voraciously today. For the quarter, Air Methods reported just a 2% revenue increase to $226.2 million as net income declined by 39% (an adjusted profit of $0.52 per share). Patient transports also fell 9% this quarter from the year-ago period. Comparatively, the Street had forecast revenue of $229 million and EPS of $0.60. However -- and here's the big "however" of why Air Methods is up today -- poor weather accounted for a majority of the weakness in Air Methods' results, and the company anticipates a "meaningful improvement in future earnings" as weather improves and maintenance costs decline.

Now what: With the market being forward-looking, you can definitely say that today's move is purely based on guidance. Weather is sometimes a forgivable scapegoat, but it won't fly as an acceptable excuse more often than it will in the financial world. With patient revenue per transport once again on the rise and the company projection a return to meaningful earnings growth, I think that even after today's pop Air Methods could represent a solid bargain and would suggest interested investors dig deeper into this company.

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The article Why Air Methods Shares Ballooned originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool recommends Air Methods. 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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