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: European electricity and natural gas provider and distributor Seventy Seven Energy (NYSE: SSE) saw its stock jump as much as 10% in early trading on Feb. 12, before settling at about a 5.5% gain as of late morning trading.
So what: While there isn't any specific news out there about Seventy Seven Energy, European stocks were largely up today, driven by the news of a cease-fire in Ukraine, brokered in part by Germany and France.
Now what: The only takeaway from this news is that it could be beneficial for Seventy Seven's access to Russian natural gas, which it uses as a feedstock for electricity generation, and also distributes to customers. After today's gains, the stock is still down more than 80% since last July, and continues to operate in a challenging environment. Regulation of its industry is very tight in the U.K. and both the Republic and Northern Ireland, and the company continues to focus on streamlining its business and cutting costs.
While some progress has been made, it will continue to take time to pay off. Investors are probably better served looking at companies in a less stringent regulatory environment.
