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 oil and gas services and production company Helix Energy (NYSE: HLX) were spiking today, gaining as much as 17% in intraday trading on heavy volume.

So what: It was a blowout quarter for Helix as earnings per share clobbered analysts' estimates. Per-share profits of $0.39 reversed an $0.82 loss from last year and bounded past the $0.19 that Wall Street was expecting. Total revenue of $338 million also topped the $316 million that was expected. The quarterly performance was driven by big gains in oil and gas production as contracting services slid.

Now what: Not enough for you? Well, you can add to that the fact that the company bumped up its full-year production outlook from 49 billion cubic feet equivalent to 50 BCFE. It also increased its capital expenditure outlook for the year by 22%, suggesting a very optimistic outlook on what's ahead.

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