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 Thompson Creek Metals (TCPTF) popped 10% on Friday after the miner announced its decision to suspend molybdenum operations in Idaho.
So what: While the company's fourth-quarter results -- adjusted loss of $28.5 million on revenue of $117.1 million -- easily missed estimates, management's move to suspend output at the Thompson Creek mine eases plenty of concern among analysts over its exposure to weak molybdenum prices. Additionally, management announced that its Mt. Milligan copper and gold mine achieved commercial production earlier in the week, reinforcing good vibes over the company's growth prospects as well.
Now what: Don't expect the operating momentum to slow anytime soon. "We are pleased with our operational achievements at our molybdenum mines as production and costs continued to improve," said CEO Jacques Perron in a statement. "As we look forward, we will continue to focus on the ramp-up at Mt. Milligan to full design capacity and look to strengthen the Company's longer-term financial profile." Of course, when you couple Thompson's still-hefty debt load with its recently hot stock price, I'd wait for some of the excitement to fade before buying into that bullishness.
