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: High-voltage power control specialist Power Integrations (Nasdaq: POWI) saw its shares leap 14.9% this morning on heavy trading volume.

So what: Last night's fourth-quarter report exceeded analyst expectations on both the top and bottom lines, and management's revenue guidance for the coming quarter also put Wall Street estimates to shame. Power controllers for LED lighting contributed strongly to this quarter's gains and will do so again in coming quarters.

Now what: The patent portfolio of Power Integrations was recently bolstered by a court decision to double damages against Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS) for infringing on the company's power-chip technology patents. Management expects to wield that legal outcome as a weapon to extract license payments from competitors. Power controllers suddenly make for a high-interest industry as International Rectifier (NYSE: IRF) is becoming a high-growth business and Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS) is actively pursuing the space.

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