Why Shares of McDermott International Jumped 10% Today

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 contractor McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) jumped as much as 10% today after the company won a large contract.

So what: McDermott, along with a consortium partner, won a SURF engineering, product supply, and installation contract for the Atlanta Early Production System of the coast of Brazil. Exploration and production company Queiroz Galvao Exploracao e Producao S.A. awarded the contract and is expecting to produce oil from the field in the first half of 2016.

Now what: The exact amount of the award wasn't announced, but management did say it will include it in backlog for the first quarter of 2015. Just the fact that a contract is moving forward in Brazil is good news, and a sign that oil and gas explorers may be opening the purse strings a bit. With oil price down around 50% over the past year, many companies have cut capital spending, so winning even a single contract can be good news for a company like McDermott International -- and has investors cheering today.

The article Why Shares of McDermott International Jumped 10% Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.