Groupon Explodes Prior to Earnings Release; Stock Up 20%

Shares of daily-deals site Groupon

have exploded higher on Monday despite a weak broad market tape. The company is set to report its quarterly earnings results after the closing bell. Heading into the report, Wall Street analysts have consensus EPS estimates of $0.01. The high estimate is $0.04 with a low estimate of ($0.01). Year-ago earnings figures are unavailable because Groupon was not a public company. Revenues are expected to be $530.82 million. The high revenue estimate is $550.00 million with a low estimate of $520.00 million. A bullish research note from Benchmark Co. may be partially responsible for the surge in the stock. The firm said that GRPN may meet or beat Wall Street estimates this afternoon after the closing bell and that a strong quarter combined with Facebook's IPO "could set the stage for a big rally" in the stock. Traders will want to keep a close eye on GRPN shares after the closing bell as the market reacts to its earnings results. Given the strength of today's move and the heavy volume in GRPN shares, Monday could mark an inflection point for the stock. Even after the huge move in the name, GRPN is only trading at $11.80 after falling sharply from its November 2011 IPO price of $20.00.