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 Capstone Turbine (Nasdaq: CPST) surged as high as 10% in intraday trading on news that General Electric (NYSE: GE) acquired intellectual property that is important to Capstone's business.

So what: Included in GE's purchase of heat recovery assets from Calnetix Power Solutions is the CPS 125kW Cleancycle. Capstone happens to own the exclusive right to integrate the Cleancycle product for microturbine applications, so in accordance with that agreement, GE will simply continue to supply Capstone.  

Now what: While the news offers some clarity with regards to Cleancycle, it's not exactly a huge game changer for Capstone. After spiking quickly on the news, the shares have now settled down in late-day trading. Capstone's well-regarded, low-emission turbines continue to make it a decent alternative energy play, but investors shouldn't read too much into today's surge -- especially with a sub-$1 stock price.