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 fiber laser specialist IPG Photonics (Nasdaq: IPGP) have beamed up by as much as 19% after the company reported first-quarter earnings ahead of expectations.

So what: Revenue in the first quarter shot up by 23% to $123.2 million, with earnings per share of $0.61. The Street was asking for just $121.3 million in sales and a profit of just $0.59 per share. CEO Dr. Valentin Gapontsev said it was a strong start for the fiscal year, and sales of high-power lasers for materials processing drove growth.

Now what: IPG also issued second-quarter guidance, with revenue expected in the ballpark of $128 million-$138 million and earnings per share between $0.60 and $0.70. Dr. Gapontsev said, "Order flow continues to be robust," while also noting that Europe and China are performing better than expected considering their respective macroeconomic environments. Looks like fellow Fool Brian Stoffel timed his purchase just right.

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