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 semiconductor equipment company Nanometrics (Nasdaq: NANO) leapt as much as 29% in intraday trading on heavier-than-average volume.

So what: Though Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) stock didn't benefit from the company's strong earnings report, most of the rest of the semiconductor sector did -- particularly the capital-equipment makers. Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT) and KLA-Tencor (Nasdaq: KLAC) both climbed more than 6%, while Varian Semiconductor (Nasdaq: VSEA) tacked on 5%. And then, of course, there was the skyrocketing Nanometrics. In addition to the strong Intel earnings, Nanometrics got a call-out in a research report from Piper Jaffray that suggested we're in a semiconductor "super cycle" and that overall capital equipment revenue could grow 15% this year.

Now what: Even after today's gain, Nanometrics' stock is trading at just 10 times expected 2011 earnings per share, so obviously investors don't exactly have soaring expectations for the company. I'm rarely keen on trying to chase a massive move like the one in Nanometrics' stock today, but this could be a company for investors to keep an eye on as they look for ways to benefit from increased capital spending in the semiconductor arena.

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