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) took a nosedive in intraday trading, plunging more than 20% after the company announced that CEO Jim Fogarty had resigned.

So What: It's a bit worrisome that the company's press release gave no clear reason for Fogarty's abrupt departure. Fogarty was brought in as a financial turnaround specialist and has helped improve the company's ailing balance sheet, so there is reason to believe -- as the press release notes -- that the company may be ready for a CEO with a retail background. However, even if that were the primary driver of the resignation, it's still a bit fishy that the departure came so abruptly and left the company at square one in its search for a replacement.

Now What: Over the past two days, I've been watching Charming Shoppes shares surge and suspecting that investors have been speculating on it being a buyout target. The CEO's departure calls that speculation into question since his potential severance package would give Fogarty little reason to leave if a takeover were imminent. So the departure today may put Charming Shoppes back in the position of being just a retailer in turnaround mode, now looking for a new CEO.

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