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 processor technologist MIPS Technologies (Nasdaq: MIPS) are up 19% with a bullet on extraordinarily heavy volume.

So what: MIPS reported first-quarter earnings last night, and it was all good news. Importantly, the company is signing up new licensees in the red-hot mobile electronics industry.

Now what: MIPS-based chips are traditionally found in places like set-top boxes and car engines, and not so much in smartphones -- but that may be changing soon. The company is a member of the Android steering committee, and management claims technical advantages over rival products from Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and ARM Holdings (Nasdaq: ARMH); a few design wins are already in the books, though we have to wait through a design cycle of a year or more before the final smartphones arrive on store shelves. MIPS has now more than tripled in the last year, and the rally may not be over yet.

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