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 Trident Microsystems (Nasdaq: TRID) sprung to intraday highs around $2.09 today, 11% above last night's closing price.

So What: There's no real news today to explain why this specialist in digital media chips is skyrocketing. Rivals like Sigma Designs (Nasdaq: SIGM) and Zoran (Nasdaq: ZRAN) are not following suit, so it's not even a sector rally.

Now What: Trident is a thinly traded stock, moving about $800,000 worth of shares on an average day. What counts as an average order for your run-of-the-mill business can take a very large chunk of Trident's order book, thus pushing the market price around like a limp rag doll. That's probably what is happening today -- a large investor had a yen for media chips and ended up distorting the share price.

Interested in more info on Trident? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.