IRVING, Texas (AP) _ Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) on Tuesday reported a first-quarter loss of $70 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the Irving, Texas-based company said it had a loss of 33 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.77 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.50 per share.

The independent oil and gas company posted revenue of $2.44 billion in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.38 billion.

Pioneer Natural Resources shares have risen 39% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has risen 11%. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $158.45, a rise of 91% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PXD at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PXD

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