3 of the Biggest Surprises This Week: Level 3 Communications, Inc. (LVLT)

3. Level 3 hit the skids
This earnings season is winding down with a modicum of unexpected results. But a handful of tech stocks still managed to surprise investors in a big way.

I’m thinking of global networking provider Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE:LVLT) , which reported sales in line with Street targets but missed earnings expectations by 44%. The stock plunged 15% the next day.

Level 3 has been dead money for years. A buyout binge left the company buried under a mountain of debt and redundant operations. Management’s main task is to reduce bloat and pay down debt, and it’ll be difficult to call the buyouts a good deal until they get it done.

So I’m not particularly shocked to see Level 3 struggling. It’s the magnitude of this quarter’s miss that landed it a spot on this week’s list.

The article 3 of the Biggest Surprises This Week originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Anders Bylund.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund owns shares of Google, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. Check out Anders’ bio and holdings or follow him on Twitter and Google+. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Apple and Google.

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