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 marine fueling company Aegean Marine Petroleum Network (NYSE: ANW) jumped 12% today after the company was upgraded by an analyst.
So what: Coverage was initiated by analysts at Stifel with a buy rating and a $14 price target. That would still be more than a 40% increase from the stock's highest trading price today.
Now what: Stocks can often pop or drop based on an analyst upgrade or downgrade, but Wall Street has little incentive to be correct about these calls and isn't any better at outperforming the market than flipping a coin. Instead, investors should look at the fundamentals and the company's financial trajectory. Earnings have fallen the past two quarters and the stock trades at a lofty 21 times trailing earnings. That's a steep price for a company that has little growth going forward.
