Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL) reported earnings on Nov. 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Ultra Petroleum whiffed on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank significantly and GAAP earnings per share contracted to a loss.

Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
 Ultra Petroleum reported revenue of $196.4 million. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see net sales of $269.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 27% lower than the prior-year quarter's $267.5 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.64. The 20 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.48 per share. GAAP EPS were -$3.94 for Q3 versus $0.97 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 67.9%, 1,610 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 20.3%, 7,200 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -306.6%, 36,240 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $255.6 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.41.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.02 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.55.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,525 members out of 1,576 rating the stock outperform, and 51 members rating it underperform. Among 312 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 299 give Ultra Petroleum a green thumbs-up, and 13 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Ultra Petroleum is hold, with an average price target of $26.16.

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