Chart of the Day: ITRI Makes Big Move

Shares of Itron (ITRI) are making a big upside move today, on very heavy volume.

There was news of a small contract win for its PC division, and also a price target upgrade from RBC (to $62). The price target bump was in response to the DOE's increase of its smart grid project, which seems to be the major catalyst. The DOE increased the project size to $200 million.

The firm believes ITRI is the best positioned company to benefit as utilities place orders for smart meters, etc. The company has the most comprehensive suite of products for grid networks and security.

I was stopped out of a trading long position in ITRI a couple of weeks ago, but this move is getting my attention. The heavy volume makes me think some big players want in on this stock. And while I would normally scoff at a +14% one-day move as too much-too fast, I'm thinking this one could have legs.

The stock is not expensive, trading at roughly 16x next year's estimates. And with this increase in the size of the DOE project, estimates for next year could prove too low. Last year, this stock topped the $100 mark, so there is plenty of potential upside.

I will have to make a decision by the close of trading today, but I am leaning toward buying a half-size position at current levels, and would look to round out and add to that position on a pullback.

Other stocks that are adding to their recent sizeable runs include: IPI, ANEN, SNDA, SYNA, NEU, QSII, GS