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 Nuverra Environmental Solutions (NESC) were freezing up today, falling as much as 13% after issuing preliminary second-quarter results.
So what: Nuverra, which specializes in the collection and recycling of substances such as waste water for fracking companies and others, said it expects revenue for the quarter to come in at $165.5 million, blaming lower than expected activity levels in its shale solutions segment, bad weather in the Bakken area, and unspecified operational issues in the Eagle Ford area. The company formerly known as Heckmann even cited heavy demand in the Marcellus and Utica shales as a problem since it forced the company to hire subcontractors, which lowered overall margins.
Now what: For a company that once seemed to hold so much promise in the fracking boom, Nuverra continues to disappoint. It's missed earnings estimates three quarters in a row and figures to do so again after significantly lowering its sales forecast. Shares are near an all-time low after today's news, and it's easy to see why. There are reasons to be optimistic about Nuverra, including sequential revenue growth in the Bakken, but this company needs to deliver on the bottom line first. We'll learn more when its full earnings report comes out Aug. 8. Analysts have been expecting a profit of a penny per share.
