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 hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) jumped 12% today after announcing a big new order.

So what: An unnamed retailer will roll out Plug Power's GenKey system in six distribution centers over the next two years. The deal will include over 1,500 GenDrive PEM fuel cell power units as well as hydrogen, infrastructure work, and other services.  

Now what: What's impressive is the sheer size of the order. Only about 4,500 GenDrive fuel cells are deployed in North America, so this will greatly increase the installed base. I'm still leery of jumping in because of continued losses and no expectation of making money in 2014. This is still a high potential stock but with a $360 million market cap and just $24.5 million of revenue in the last four quarters it's not a risk I'm willing to take at this point.
This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. We’re motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.