What happened Shares of oil carrier Nordic American Tankers (NYSE: NAT) jumped 13.5% in early trading Monday before retracing to enjoy a still-healthy 9.4% gain as of 12:35 p.m. EDT. There's no news to explain this move ... yet. But soon there may be. Nordic American earnings are on deck. Get it? Image source: Getty Images. So what Nordic American Tankers stock is expected to report Q3 earnings on Friday, Nov. 2 -- the tail end of this week. Analysts aren't looking for any hugely good news -- a $0.12-per-share loss is forecast. But compared to the $0.34 per share that Nordic American Tankers lost one year ago, even that would be an improvement. Sales will be up nearly 9% year over year if they come in at the expected level of $25.7 million. Now what Investors bidding up Nordic American shares today may be positioning themselves in hopes of an "earnings beat" -- but even if it arrives, the news still can't be great. According to analysts who follow the stock, Nordic American Tanker is almost certain to post a full-year loss at the end of 2018 -- $0.47 per share. Sales for the full year are expected to decline 23% to less than $119 million. Since the company is unprofitable and laden with debt, I don't see Nordic American Tanker as a particularly attractive stock, even if it does beat earnings on Friday. 10 stocks we like better than Nordic American TankersWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Nordic American Tankers wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click here to learn about these picks! *Stock Advisor returns as of August 6, 2018Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.