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 natural gas giant Chesapeake Energy (CHKA.Q) jumped as much as 12.9% in early trading after CEO Aubrey McClendon announced his intention to retire.
So what: The embattled CEO will step down on April 1, hopefully not as some sort of April Fool's joke, after a tumultuous year to say the least. Chesapeake faced a funding gap that required a fire sale of important assets and McClendon himself is under investigation by his own company for improper behavior.
Now what: You know just what the market thinks about you by how your stock reacts when you leave. Clearly investors weren't happy with McClendon and aren't going to be concerned if the door hits him on the way out. This alone doesn't make Chesapeake a buy, but it does eliminate one of the biggest reasons to avoid the stock, opening a new chapter for the company.
A deep look at Chesapeake
