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 Magnum Hunter Resources Corp (NYSE: MHR) jumped double-digits by mid-morning trading on Wednesday. Fueling the surge wasn't any news releases from the company or even the fact oil prices were bounding higher today. Instead, what ignited today's surge was an 8-K filing where the company cleared up a misunderstanding in the marketplace regarding capital it needed to raise as part of its credit facility redetermination.
So what: As part of its spring redetermination Magnum Hunter's banks wanted the company to raise $65 million in capital. That cash could be raised by either an equity issuance, or selective asset sales and needed to be completed by May 29. However, the market misinterpreted this date and thought the capital needed to be raised sooner, so, Magnum Hunter wanted to be clear that it still has a month to raise that capital. The company also wanted to let investors know that it is actively working on five separate liquidity events that would bring in the cash it needs not just for its banks, but for capex in 2015.
Now what: Investors tend to sell first and ask questions later. That appears to be what happened at Magnum Hunter Resources as its stock dropped about 25% since its first 8-K detailing its need to raise capital. Now that it has cleared up that misunderstanding investors are sending the stock higher. That said, the company does still need to raise capital and only has a month to do so, meaning the clock is ticking.
