STOCKS NEWS US-Traders snap up Clorox call options

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1307 ET 05Jan2010 Traders snap up Clorox call options

Investors appear to be favoring Clorox Co call options, expecting more gains in its shares within the next few months. The stock rose 1.5 percent to $62.36 by midday. In all, about 2,890 calls and 388 puts changed hands, according to Trade Alert. Among the standouts, was the April $65 call strike which traded 2,350 times earlier in the session. The top trade was 468 contracts at a 80-cent premium on the International Securities Exchange, according to ISEE data. 'In fact, 85 percent of the CLX calls traded today (or 907 contracts) are opening buyers,' said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy. There was no apparent catalyst to explain relative strength in the shares or the call buying in Clorox.

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1255 EST 5Jan2010
Ford Motor options heavily traded after sales report

Ford Motor options are heavily traded, as shares jump following a report of a surge in December auto sales. For details see. The stock was up 7.3 percent at $11.03. By early afternoon, about 187,000 options traded on Ford, dominated by roughly 115,000 contracts on the call side of the options chain, according to Trade Alert. The Jan 2010 calls at the $10 and $11 strikes are the most active and the Feb $10 puts are seeing interest as well, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy. The stock's average option implied volatility was up 5.4 percent to 43.8 percent, he said.

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1157 EST 5Jan2010-Ciena calls active on renewed takeover chatter
analysts

Ciena Corp attracted bullish options activity on Tuesday on renewed chatter Nokia Siemens will buy the U.S. network gear marker, analysts said. The stock was up 5.6 percent at $11.63, and the overall option volume was four times greater than its recent average daily turnover with about 32,000 calls and 7,399 puts traded near midday, according to option analytics firm Trade Alert. 'There is a rumor that Nokia would buy them, and the volume is the highest we have seen,' said Jon Najarian, co-founder of optionMonster, a Web information site. He said Feb $12 calls have traded 12,000 contracts so far, while the open interest is only 1,400, suggesting that the trades reflect new positions rather than investors trying to cover old shorts. Feb $11 call activity is about six times the open interest. 'We view the unusually high volume as endorsements that something big is going in the stock,' Najarian said. A Nokia Siemens spokesperson declined comment on the takeover chatter, while a Ciena official was not immediately available.

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1144 EST 5Jan2010
Nokia files new patent suit against Apple

Nokia, has launched another court case against Apple for alleged patent violations, in an increasingly fierce legal battle between two leaders of the smartphone market.

Nokia, the world's top cellphone maker, filed the case at a Delaware court in the United States on Dec. 29 seeking damages for Apple's alleged infringement of seven Nokia patents in most of its products, court documents showed.

For details, see

Shares of Apple rose 0.4 percent to $214.93 while U.S.-listed shares of Nokia were down 0.8 percent to $13.24.

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1132 EST 5Jan2010
Salix Pharma gains after brokers up targets

Shares of Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc rose on Tuesday after a pair of brokers raised their price targets on the stock, citing potential from the company's drug Xifaxan.

While Roth Capital raised its target to $30 from $27, Piper Jaffray doubled its target to $58 and said the stock is its 'top small-cap specialty pharma pick in 2010.'

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The stock gained 6.6 percent to $27.78.

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1123 ET 05Jan2010
Las Vegas Sands gains after Barclays note

Las Vegas Sands Corp shares rose 7.5 percent to $17.86 on Tuesday after Barclays Capital initiated coverage of the stock with an 'overweight' rating and $24 price target.

The firm believes the casino operator has one of the most attractive development pipelines and said its casinos set to open in Macau in Singapore are well positioned to revenues for the next several years.

In Asia, shares of Macau casino operators rose on reports that gambling revenues in the enclave rose 48 percent in December from the prior year.

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1055 ET 05Jan2010
Traders favor Delta calls after Continental data

Delta Air Lines Inc call options heated up, with more than 11,800 February $12 calls crossing the tape Tuesday morning. Its shares jumped 8.3 percent to $12.15. The ARCA Airline Index rose nearly 5 percent after data from Continental Airlines Inc showed revenue improvements in December. For details, see. One top trade in that strike was 2,248 contracts at a $1 premium on the International Securities Exchange and an opening customer buyer, according to ISE data, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy. Delta's overall option volume was three times the recent average daily turnover, with about 28,000 calls and 8,606 puts traded, according to Trade Alert. Joe Kunkle, a founder of OptionsHawk.com also noted offer side buying in large blocks.

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1039 EST 5Jan2010-Noble Energy shares up on Rockies oil
gas deal

Shares of Noble Energy Inc rose on Tuesday after the company said it would buy the Rocky Mountains oil and gas assets of Petro-Canada Resources Inc and Suncor Energy America Inc for $494 million.

Noble estimates the total proved reserves to be 53 million barrels of oil equivalent, with 80 percent within the Wattenberg field, Noble's largest onshore U.S. asset.

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Noble gained 2.3 percent to $74.93, while Suncor rose 45 cents to C$38.75.

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