John Bean (JBT Quick QuoteJBT - Free Report) shares rallied 10.8% in the last trading session to close at $141.89. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 10.4% loss over the past four weeks.

John Bean shares gained following an upgrade by Robert W. Baird from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating. The brokerage presently has a target price of $151 price, which suggests a potential upside of 18% from the company's current price.

Price and Consensus

This food processing and transportation services company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.10 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +0.9%. Revenues are expected to be $451.8 million, up 9.8% 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 JBT, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 14.1% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. And a negative trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't usually translate into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on JBT 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 >>>>