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 explorer Cobalt International Energy (NYSE: CIE) fell 14% today after the company updated exploratory well progress.
So what: The biggest news was that the Ardennes #1 exploratory well didn't find any commercial hydrocarbons despite reaching a depth of 36,552 feet. The Gulf of Mexico has offered a number of major discoveries lately, but Cobalt missed out on this well, so it's on to other prospects for the driller.
Now what: This is the risk with oil explorers: Sometimes you strike it big and sometimes you come up with sand. The company did announce finding hydrocarbons in West Africa at the Diaman #1B well, although full details aren't known yet. The risk used to drill Ardennes #1 will also be moved to Aegean #1 where the company has a 60% working interest. Obviously this isn't good news, but Cobalt has a number of strong developments, so pulling back from near a 52-week high isn't the end of the world.
