Landec shares ended the last trading session 13% higher at $10.66. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 1.2% loss over the past four weeks.

Shares of Landec have been gaining following the company’s announcement that it has completed the sale of Curation Food’s fresh packaged salads and vegetables business for $73.5 million in cash to Taylor Farms Retail. The company will utilize the net proceeds to pay down debt. This divestment is seen as a part of the company’s effort to simplify business and channelize resources to expand Lifecore Biomedical unit.

John D. Morberg, CFO, said, “We are pleased to complete this sale and simultaneously pay down debt by $67.9 million, net, after deducting for total transaction related costs and debt prepayment fees.”

This agricultural and food packaging products company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.08 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -500%. Revenues are expected to be $132.36 million, up 1.1% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For Landec, 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 LNDC 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 >>>>