Welbilt, Inc. shares soared 44.5% in the last trading session to close at $22.58. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 2.7% loss over the past four weeks.

Welbilt’s rally is largely driven by optimism over the company’s merger agreement with The Middleby Corporation (MIDD Quick QuoteMIDD - Free Report) . Per the deal, Middleby will acquire Welbilt in an all-stock transaction. The transaction is likely to allow Welbilt’s shareholders to take part in the future value creation of the combined company.

Price and Consensus

This food and beverage equipment maker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.03 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +200%. Revenues are expected to be $286.88 million, down 12.8% 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 Welbilt, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 2.5% 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 WBT going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>