Energy services provider Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE: HLX) opened the day dramatically higher on July 23, rising roughly 33% in the first few minutes of trading. There's little doubt what got Wall Street so excited: It was the company's earnings release after the close on July 22.
Helix provides offshore drilling services to the energy industry. The problem is that oil and natural gas prices are low right now and drillers have, thus, been pulling back on spending. That has a material impact on services providers like Helix, which basically end up with less business. To give an idea of how bad things are, Helix lost $0.09 a share in the first quarter of 2020, which was only partially impacted by the COVID-19 demand disruptions that have tanked the energy market. Investors have clearly been expecting the bad news to continue, with the stock down about 50% through July 22.
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