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 microchip specialist MIPS Technologies (Nasdaq: MIPS) climbed as high as 11% in early Monday trading on above-average volume, nicely extending its recent hot streak.

So what: Since receiving a favorable mention on Jim Cramer's Mad Money show last Wednesday, MIPS has already gained nearly 20% on extraordinarily high volume. The "Internet tsunami play," as Cramer describes it, has also more than doubled over the past three months and more than quadrupled over the last year.

Now what: As a die-hard Dumpster diver, I'd feel uncomfortable about buying into MIPS right now. While I agree with Cramer on MIPS' huge potential in the smartphone space, I'm heeding the advice of my fellow Fool Anders Bylund and paying particularly close attention to the valuation. With a six-plus price-to-book ratio -- representing a huge premium to giant rivals ARM Holdings (Nasdaq: ARMH) and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) -- MIPS doesn't seem like the best way to bet your chips.

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