The Middleby Corporation (MIDD Quick QuoteMIDD - Free Report) shares soared 9.1% in the last trading session to close at $181.99. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 1.8% gain over the past four weeks.

Middleby’s rally is largely driven by optimism over the company’s merger agreement with Welbilt, Inc. . The deal will allow Middleby to strengthen its Commercial Foodservice platform with strong product line, brands and technologies, apart from enhancing its position in the foodservice equipment industry.

Price and Consensus

This food preparation equipment company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.57 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +7.5%. Revenues are expected to be $712.3 million, up 5.1% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Middleby, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 5% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on MIDD going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>