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 MLP EV Energy Partners (Nasdaq: EVEP) popped 10% higher today after the company was upgraded by an analyst.

So what: Oppenheimer upgraded EV Energy Partners this morning to outperform, from a market perform rating, which led to the stock’s pop. The company also announced its second-quarter cash distribution of $0.761 per unit payable to holder of record at the market close on August 8.

Now what: We Fools are always cautious about an analyst upgrade and I have to admit I’m not terribly excited about buying EV Energy Partners just because Oppenheimer says so. The company will release quarterly results on Tuesday, Aug. 9, and I’d like to see where operations stand before buying. Financial results mean a lot more to this Fool than an analyst changing its rating on a stock.

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