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 Beckman Coulter (NYSE: BEC) soared as much as 30% in intraday trading Friday on reports that the diagnostic instrument specialist has put itself up for sale.

So what: Citing sources close to the matter, The Wall Street Journal said Beckman could fetch as much as $5 billion in sale, representing a 25% premium to its closing market cap value on Thursday. The news comes amid heavy consolidation in the medical device sector, with the likes of General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT) widely considered as potential suitors for Beckman.

Now what: I'd keep my distance from Beckman's shares at this point. The company has hired Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to help weigh its options, but if The Wall Street Journal's valuation work is to be believed, there doesn't seem to be much upside left after today's surge. While Beckman is one of the few publically traded pure testing device plays left, gorilla conglomerates Siemens (NYSE: SI), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), and Abbott -- which dominate the space -- aren't exactly bad places to roll your money over.

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