These 9 Stocks Had The Biggest Earnings Reactions

Earnings season provides some of the biggest trading catalysts of the year for a number of stocks, but earnings per share (EPS) is not as important for some stocks as it is for others.

According to Bespoke Wealth Management's head portfolio manager Paul Hickey, after earnings volatility, traders should look to the technology sector.

“Historically, Technology stocks have seen the most volatile reaction to earnings with an average daily move of +/- 7.23 percent in the first full session following their earnings release,” Hickey told Benzinga.

The consumer discretionary sector is the second most-volatile sector with an average move of 6.25 percent.

Hickey said traders looking to avoid earnings volatility should consider utilities (2.23 percent) and financials (3.56 percent), which have historically demonstrated the least volatile reactions to earnings.

For certain stocks, earnings are the least of the market’s concerns. Growth investors often instead look for metrics such as same-store-sales, subscriber growth or forward revenue guidance.

Hickey added that determining which stocks have more important metrics than earnings requires case-by-case analysis.

“It is to a degree a function of the individual stock than the sector — growth/high valuation stocks react more to growth metrics than stodgy low-growth stocks like Utilities,” Hickey told Benzinga. “In many cases, these growth stocks tend to be found in the Tech, Consumer Discretionary, and Health Care sector, but examples can really be found across all the major sectors.”

For traders looking for the most earnings action in upcoming quarters, Bespoke has found the following 10 stocks have the most volatile reactions to their quarterly earnings reports. Stocks are listed along with their average one-day post-earnings move.

• 1. Groupon Inc GRPN: 17.7 percent.
  2. The Rubicon Project Inc RUBI: 17.0 percent.
  3. RetailMeNot Inc SALE: 16.1 percent.
  4. Silicon Graphics International Corp SGI: 16.0 percent.
  5. ChannelAdvisor Corp ECOM: 15.8 percent.
  6. Yelp Inc YELP: 15.5 percent.
  7. Vince Holding Corp VNCE: 15.5 percent.
  8. Silicom Ltd. SILC: 15.5 percent.
  9. Angie’s List Inc ANGI: 15.3 percent.