Why Monster Worldwide Shares Popped Thursday

What: Shares of online job search specialist Monster Worldwide climbed as much as 15% on Thursday after its quarterly results and outlook impressed Wall Street. At 1:30 p.m., the stock was up 9% from the previous close.

So what: Monster shares have been volatile over the past year on uncertainty over the company's turnaround plans, but solid Q2 results -- adjusted EPS of $0.10 on revenue of $180.4 million -- coupled with upbeat guidance reignites optimism over its long-term growth trajectory. While Monster's European business continues to experience strong market headwinds, management's initiatives to cut costs and expand its user-base seem to be taking particularly strong hold in the Careers-North America segment.

Now what: Management now sees full-year adjusted operating EPS of $0.09-$0.13 and expects to exit 2015 with a Q4 EBITDA margin of 18%-22%. "We are increasingly confident that our family of new strategic products are additive to our traditional core products and provide a superior competitive solution for our customers," said President and CEO Tim Yates. "Our focus on sales execution in North America is beginning to prove effective." Given Monster's still-shaky competitive position, hefty debt load, and extremely volatile shares, however, conservative Fools might want to remain on the sidelines.

The article Why Monster Worldwide Shares Popped Thursday originally appeared on Fool.com.

Brian Pacampara 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.

Copyright 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.