Gulfport Energy & Solars

The devastating earthquake in Japan was certainly felt on the markets in America on Monday. While the Dow was sharply lower early in the day, it made up a good deal of lost ground before the final bell rung.

However, when all was said and done, the Dow was still down 51 points, or 0.43%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was off by .60% and the NASDAQ declined by .54%.

The earthquake had an impact on the Zacks #1 Rank List as well. Here are a few companies near the top of that list.

Gulfport Energy Corporation (GPOR - Snapshot Report) today reported a positive EPS surprise for its fourth quarter and a sharp gain in revenue growth. This performance led the company to the very top of the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List on Monday, as shares jumped by 13.68%.

Volume was also on a tear today as more than 2.5 million shares changed hands, compared to the daily average of around 636,000 shares.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2011 is $1.91 per share, which is up practically 5% from a month ago as 2 of 6 estimates were revised higher. The last 2 months has seen that outlook expand by a much as 11%.

For its fourth quarter, GPOR earned 32 cents per share, well ahead of last year's 21 cents and above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents by more than 10%.

GPOR uncharacteristically fell short of expectations in its second quarter of 2010. Apart from that miss though, the company has an excellent record for performing above expectations. For example, in the past 10 quarters it has beaten 8 times, matched once and missed that one time.

Revenue in the quarter grew by more than 50% to $37.5 million from $24.9 million last year.

GPOR is 1 of 5 companies from the oil-US exploration & production industry on today's Zacks #1 Rank List. The other 4 names are Constellation Energy Partners LLC (CEP), Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG - Snapshot Report), Range Resources Corp. (RRC - Analyst Report) and Clayton Williams Energy, Inc. (CWEI - Snapshot Report).

Gulfport Energy is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company with its principal producing properties located along the Louisiana Gulf Coast and the Permian Basin in West Texas.

A couple of solar stocks secured back-to-back positions near the head of the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List on Monday. The situation in Japan will undoubtedly spark a renewed round of debates on the safety of nuclear energy; a round of debates that could last years. The solar industry seemed to capitalize today.

Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. (JKS - Snapshot Report) ended the session higher by 9.77%, while LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (LDK - Snapshot Report) was right on its heels with an advance of 8.83%. Both of these companies have a long-term "Outperform" recommendation.

The 2011 Zacks Consensus Estimate for JKS is currently at $7.32 per share, which is up nearly 49% in 30 days as all 5 estimates for the period were revised higher. For 2012, the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.70 per share has climbed nearly 40% in a month on 3 of 4 upward revisions.

In its fourth quarter, Jinko Solar reported earnings per share of $2.36, which bettered the Zacks Consensus Estimate by more than 53%. It was also the company's third straight quarter with a positive surprise in the double digits.

Volume for JKS on Monday was 2.27 million, compared to the daily average of 1.7 million.

Jinko Solar operates as a solar energy company that manufactures and markets monocrystalline and multi-crystalline silicon wafers. Its products are used for manufacturing photovoltaic solar cells and panels.

Speaking of volume, LDK Solar sure did show off in that regard today. Volume moved north of 13 million shares Monday, compared to the daily average of around 8.5 million.

LDK will soon be reporting its fourth-quarter results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for that quarter is now 94 cents per share, which is actually down 2 cents in 7 days. Nevertheless, the guidance remains more than 15% a top the outlook from 2 months ago.

As for 2011, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is at $2.56 per share, which is up more than 5% from 30 days ago and more than 22% from 2 months ago.

Like JKS, LDK Solar has put together 3 straight quarters with a positive EPS surprise. In its third quarter, EPS of 72 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by practically 85%.

LDK Solar is a leading vertically integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products and a leading manufacturer of solar wafers in terms of capacity. The company manufactures polysilicon, mono and multcrystalline ingots, wafers, modules and cells.

Jinko Solar and LDK Solar may have had the most dramatic increases in share price on Monday, but they weren't the only solar-related stocks to finish in the green today. It was a pretty solid day for the industry as a whole. As a result, GT Solar International, Inc. (SOLR) gained 3.19% and SunPower Corp. (SPWRA) was up (1.61%).

Read the full analyst report on SPWRA

Read the full analyst report on RRC

Read the full analyst report on NOG

Read the full analyst report on JKS

Read the full analyst report on GPOR

Read the full analyst report on CEP

Read the full analyst report on CWEI

Read the full analyst report on SOLR

Read the full analyst report on LDK