Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of specialty retailer Charming Shoppes (Nasdaq: CHRS) jumped more than 10% today on no apparent news.

So What: It's been a day of buyout excitement with OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) shares surging after a JPMorgan Chase analyst suggested that it and fellow office retailer Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) could be good buyout targets. And it's not that crazy of an idea -- yesterday Gymboree (Nasdaq: GYMB) agreed to be taken out by Bain Capital, while strategic buyers like L'Oreal and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) are supposedly sniffing around Avon Products (NYSE: AVP). It's very possible that investors have been jumping on Charming Shoppes shares on the hopes that they could end up in the sights of a financial or strategic buyer.

Now What: Could a Charming Shoppes buyout happen? Well sure, in theory it could. But speculating on takeovers that aren't even at the rumor stage is a terrible idea. The company's income statement hasn't looked particularly good lately as consumers have been pinched by the recession, but it does have a net cash position on its balance sheet and continues to produce solid free cash flow. For investors that have Charming Shoppes on their radar, the best bet is to focus on the company's underlying business and financial performance and not worry about pie-in-the-sky buyout hopes.

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