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: Offshore contract driller Vantage Drilling (AMEX: VTG) saw its shares surge as high as 14% at the opening bell.

So what: After the Obama administration lifted its deepwater drilling ban last week, it's not surprising to see large buy orders being filled on Vantage. The shares were crushed more than 60% in the three months following BP's (NYSE: BP) debacle, but have since bounced almost all of the way back        

Now what: While today's opening surge was short-lived, there's still plenty of reason for Vantage shareholders to be happy. Although the Gulf may not be completely open for business, fellow Fool David Lee Smith wrote last week that "the road to normalcy in the Gulf apparently has [at least] begun." Of course, given Vantage's small size and big debt load, I'd urge Fools to buy it in a basket with bigger drilling stocks like Transocean (NYSE: RIG), Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO), and Nabors (NYSE: NBR) -- all of which are also on a recent tear.

Interested in more info on Vantage? Add it to your watchlist here by clicking here.