STOCKS NEWS US-S&P short interest falls as stocks rise-Jefferies

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1420 ET 03June2009-S&P 500 short interest falls as stocks rally-Jefferies
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Short interest as a percent of the overall S&P 500 index has fallen since
the beginning of the current market rally, suggesting investors have been
forced to cover their bets as stocks bounced from 12-year lows in the last
three months, analysts at Jefferies Equity Strategy said on Wednesday.

"We think this may suggest that many short sellers were caught off-guard
by the recent run-up, possibly fueling short covering. This is in contrast to
the drop in short interest as a percent of float at the end of last year, which
coincided with a decrease in share prices," the analysts wrote in a research
note.

Short positions are when investors borrow a stock and sell it at a high
price with the expectation they will be able to buy it back at a lower price,
pocketing the difference. However, if the stock rises, investors may be forced
to buy it at the higher price. This pushes the stock up even higher and is
called a "short squeeze".

Since the beginning of 2008, short sellers have been most active in
financials and consumer discretionary stocks, Jefferies said, two sectors that
have been hardest hit by the credit crisis and recession. However, since March
when the rally began, these sectors have seen the greatest decrease in short
interest.

As well, consumer discretionary and technology stocks have the greatest
dispersion of short interest, "suggesting that view points differ widely
between companies in these sectors," the analysts said.

Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.com@reuters.net
1359 ET 03June2009 Option players seek upside CBS call options
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A number of bullish option traders are hoping the shares of CBS Corp
(CBS.N) will rise by about 30 percent early next year. Its shares edged up 1
cent to $8.66 in afternoon trade. "CBS edged onto our 'hot by options volume'
market scanner as option investors got long of $10 strike-call options," said
Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in a note.
He noticed that the December $10 strike price had nearly 5,000 lots coveted for
a premium of 1.30 apiece. Further along at the January 2010 $10 strike more
than 10,000 calls traded for an average premium of 1.39 per contract. Call
buyers in the January contract are hoping for shares of CBS to rally by about
30 percent to the break even point at $11.39 in order to amass profits by
expiration in seven months time, he said.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1349 ET 03June2009-La-Z-Boy shares soar after upgrade
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Shares of La-Z-Boy Inc (LZB.N) jumped on Wednesday, after Raymond James
upgraded the furniture maker to strong buy.

"Clearly, industry conditions remain exceptionally difficult; however, our
channel checks suggest the pace of decline may be stabilizing," the firm wrote
to clients.

For details, see [ID:nN03508390]

The stock advanced 28 percent to $2.79.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1333 ET 03June2009-NetApp raises buyout bid for Data Domain
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NetApp Inc (NTAP.O) on Wednesday raised its bid for Data Domain (DDUP.O) to
$30 a share, matching a competing offering from EMC Corp (EMC.N).

The company said its cash-and-stock bid is worth $1.9 billion, net of cash
and subject to adjustments. NetApp first bid $25 per share for Data Domain on
May 20.

For details, see [ID:nBNG411575]

Shares of Data Domain rose 2.9 percent to $32.51 while NetApp was off 4.1
percent to $18.54 and EMC sank 4 percent to $12.34.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1324 ET 03June2009-Antigenics soars after drug data
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Shares of Antigenics Inc (AGEN.O) jumped on Wednesday, after the
biotechnology company released positive data on Monday for its kidney cancer
vaccine. It is the third straight day the stock advanced.

For details, see [ID:nBNG101873]

Shares surged 82 percent to $2.79.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1312 ET 03June2009 Bidding war over Data Domain stirs upside call action
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A bidding war over Data Domain Inc (DDUP.O) has spurred some option traders
to bet on additional upward movement in the shares of the data storage company.
NetApp Inc (NTAP.O) on Wednesday sweetened its offer for Data Domain to $30 a
share, matching a competing one from EMC Corp (EMC.N). Data Domain shares rose
3.26 percent to $32.61. "Essentially, NetApp's actions speak louder than words
and might roughly translate to, 'your move EMC,'" said Andrew Wilkinson, market
analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in a note. He noticed that one investor
looked at the September contract and shed 4,500 puts at the $30 strike for a
premium of 55 cents to finance the purchase of 4,500 calls at the higher
September $35 strike at a cost of 45 cents per contract. The trader gets a net
credit of 10 cents on the table and will attain the right to exercise the calls
should the shares rally by about 8 percent, he said.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1159 ET 03June2009-Markets fall after weaker-than-expected data
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Major U.S. indexes fell on Wednesday, following the release of
weaker-than-expected data on the labor and service sectors.

For details, see [ID:nN0366223]

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 1 percent to 8,651.98 while
the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.5 percent to 930.91 and the Nasdaq .IXIC was off
0.8 percent to 1,822.71.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net;