Navigant Consulting Shares Popped: What You Need to Know (NCI)

Navigant Consulting Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

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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 Navigant Consulting (NYSE: NCI ) had a big morning, rising as much as much as 10% before investors lost some of their enthusiasm.

So what: Investors had reason to be happy with Navigant today as the company reported second-quarter results that topped analysts' estimates. Revenue of $194 million was up 13% from last year, while adjusted earnings per share climbed 24% to $0.21. Wall Street was looking for $0.18 in per-share profit on $185 million in revenue. Sales in every one of Navigant's practice areas were up from last year, though it was dispute and investigative services that drove profit gains, while economic consulting and international consulting created a drag on the bottom line.

Now what: In addition to the strong second-quarter results, Navigant also said that its full-year performance would likely be towards the higher end of its previously-announced guidance. While this is certainly a positive, it didn't come as much of a surprise to investors, as analysts were already expecting that 2011 earnings per share would be $0.76 (on management's guidance range of $0.70 to $0.77).

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