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 ultra-deepwater drilling company Ocean Rig UDW (ORIG) jumped 12% today after reporting earnings.
So what: Revenue jumped 15% in the quarter to $328.5 million, driven by an average operating efficiency of 98.4%. The company also took deliver of Ocean Rig Mylos, which began production this week. Higher expenses from the rig helped push net income to a loss of $12.2 million, or $0.09 per share, but on an adjusted basis earnings were $0.30 per share, nine cents ahead of estimates.
Now what: The ultra-deepwater market is booming and Ocean Rig is a pure-play in the sector. I'd expect earnings to continue to grow long-term, driven by three new rigs being delivered. My only concern is a management team that doesn't have a long history of shareholder value creation. If earnings continue to rise on strong utilization this stock has a lot of room left to run.
