CF Industries (CF Quick QuoteCF - Free Report) shares soared 6.1% in the last trading session to close at $53.49. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 10.4% gain over the past four weeks.

The company’s shares are heading higher following its move to restart the ammonia plant at its Billingham, UK complex. The resumption of operation follows an interim deal to cover the costs to restart the ammonia plant and produce CO2 for the UK market. CF Industries, last week, halted operations at both its Billingham and Ince, UK, manufacturing facilities due to high natural gas prices.

This fertilizer maker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.29 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +1092.3%. Revenues are expected to be $1.47 billion, up 73.1% 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 CF, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on CF 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 >>>>