Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) is recently down $5.58 to $51.60 in pre-open trading. The company reaffirmed its financial guidance for Q4 and expects revenue for the quarter to be at or near the mid-point of the previously guided range. RIMM will announce Q4 financial results on April 2. RIMM February 50 straddle is priced at $7.73, RIMM March 40 straddle is priced at $10.90. March option implied volatility of 80 is above its 26-week average of 70, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Micron Tech (NYSE: MU) closed at $4.02. MU and Elpida Memory submitted an industry consolidation plan on February 6 to the Taiwan government in an attempt to receive financing. MU March option implied volatility of 95 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, indicating non-directional price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Hershey (NYSE: HSY) closed at $40.23 Wednesday. HSY call volume was heavy on August 6, with 21,092 contracts trading. HSY August option implied volatility is at 56, September at 44; above its 26-week average of 30 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Rambus (NASDAQ: RMBS) closed at $15.34 Wednesday. RMBS is the frequent subject of patent infringement & anti-trust claim issues. Hynix Semiconductor, Samsung Electronics and Micron Tech (NYSE-MU) have had patent infringement suits with RMBS. RMBS September option implied volatility of 103 is above its 6-month average of 74 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Financial Select Sector-XLF overall volatility at 39; 26-week average is 38

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Rambus (NASDAQ: RMBS) closed at $16.46 Monday.

RMBS is the frequent subject of patent infringement & anti-trust claim issues. Hynix Semiconductor, Samsung Electronics and Micron Tech (NYSE: MU) have had patent infringement suits with RMBS.

RMBS July 16 straddle is priced at $1.60. RMBS August option implied volatility of 90 is above its 26-week average of 72 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

The Associated Press reports that 99 year old billionaire J. R. Simplot died of natural causes after a life shunning cigarettes and alcohol. Although much of his $3.2 billion estimated net worth came from a deal he struck with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) to supply potatoes for its french fries, he also made some money in semiconductors -- providing $1 million in capital for a 40% stake in Micron Technologies (NYSE: MU).

That Micron stake connects me -- however distantly -- to Simplot. That's because on June 22, 2006, Micron acquired Lexar Media, a maker of flash memory chips, for $850 million. I was an advisory board member of Lexar and received cash for my stake. Micron, which generates most of its revenues from Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) chips, thought that Lexar's flash memory would help boost its margins by expanding Micron's then-developing memory card business. Unfortunately, Micron's stock has lost 22% of its value since the deal.

But Micron was not the biggest part of Simplot's fortune. He left home in 1923 with $20 worth of gold coins from his mother and traded up. His businesses, still family owned, manufacture agriculture, horticulture and turf fertilizers; animal feed and seeds; food products such as fruits, potatoes and other vegetables; and industrial chemicals and irrigation products. He all but invented the first commercially viable frozen french fries in the world.

Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) said it was notified by the SEC that it had ended its formal investigation into the company's past stock options practices. RMBS closed at $19.84. RMBS has upcoming patent infringement and anti-trust claim issues in 2008. RMBS January option implied volatility is 54 and May is at 74. RMBS average option implied volatility over the last 26-weeks is 64 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE: MU) is recently up 18 cents to $9.13. MU has been frequently mentioned as takeover candidate over the last 18-months. MU December and January option implied volatility of 57 is above its 26-week average of 42 according to Track Data, indicating larger price risk.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) might finally be on the verge of seeing the adoption of Vista, wrote Arnie Berman, chief technology strategist, at Cowen & Company late last week.

Berman surveyed 283 corporate IT buyers and found 47% of small- and medium-sized businesses will begin deploying Vista by December 31, this is up from 43% in a similar survey completed in February. 31% of larger enterprises plan to start rolling out Vista by December 31, up from 25% in the previous survey.

How to invest in the long-awaited Vista uptake? Play the Microsoft food chain stocks, particularly since most investors have given up on Vista's adoption, indicating this is where investors could get the most bang for the buck. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Micron Technology Inc (NYSE: MU), Berman believes will be beneficiaries of Vista's adoption. Other investment plays include memory chip maker Qimonda AG (NYSE: QI), the drive makers Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) and Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC), and Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ: MRVL), a supplier to the drive business.

In our past Intel blogs, the Fly has suggested Intel has capacity in place to start ramping 64 megabyte processors big time, on a scale Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) does not possess. Berman points out that Intel's enterprise value/sales ratio relative to AMD is close to an all-time low, meaning Intel is cheap relative to AMD despite AMD's recent poor stock performance.

Nvidia at 19x consensus calendar 2007 results has shown the ability to deliver favorable financial surprises and could provide the solution to the greatest potential bottleneck for Vista adoption, the graphic processors.

Micron is selling close to its $10.91 book value which historically has supported the stock and memory demand will increase with the new operating system.

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX)

Amazing. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), that big online retailer, sees the flix for the net. The shares keep rising for the online DVD rental company-up about 15%, highest since January-- even if their discs do come a little scratched. More than that though is while new subscribers are coming on; it's not exactly going gangbusters. Still, 6.8M is a whole lot of subscribers. Will Amazon, or someone else, overpay?

Rackable Systems Inc (NASDAQ: RACK)

Which came first: The ongoing takeover rumors or the higher stock price? Or was it that Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL) is said to be after Rackable, a provider of servers and storage products for high density data center deployments. Rack it up.

Feldman Mall Properties Inc (NYSE: FMP)

Word is that this real estate investment trust will look for a sale, combo or merger. They said the venerable firm of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. will help them "explore strategic alternatives." Then the stock went up.

STILL FLYING AROUND

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc (NASDAQ: TRMP)

Dennis Gomes, whose name surfaced in March, is a one time gaming exec and regulator. He's signed a confidentiality agreement to have a look see at the firm's Atlantic City casinos. Separately, Las Vegas' Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) has also been mentioned as a possible contender.

YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW)

The CEO of this Kansas-based transportation service provider has been quoted as saying that a takeover is possible. An LBO is likely. This week the shares have actively been trading up.

Dollar Tree Stores Inc (NASDAQ: DLTR)

Imagine a dollar tree where the stock keeps going up, up, up. Well, here it is, once again, a subject of takeover talk.

BUZZ

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X): Russia's Severstal may be prowling around...Plains Exploration & Production Company (NYSE: PXP): Takeover candidate's stock is sharply higher... Micron Technology Inc (NYSE: MU): Blackstone has interest...Ameristar Casinos Inc (NASDAQ: ASCA): A hot stock and takeover rumors abound...Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA): Remains an LBO candidate...The First Marblehead Corporation (NYSE: FMD): The student loan business is booming and earnings growth is strong, but who would buy it?...Marriott International Inc (NYSE: MAR): A target? But where's the movement?...Oakley Inc (NYSE: OO) as a target has been around and around, and now some say it will be bought by Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX).

Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) -- calls active on Flat implied volatility on renewed Speculation. MU is engaged in the manufacturer and marketing of dynamic random access memory, flash memory, and complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensors. MU is recently up $0.35 to $11.87 on renewed M&A chatter. MU has a market cap of $8.8 billion with long term debt of $640 million. MU call option volume of 19,606 contracts compares to put volume of 2,154 contracts. MU June option implied volatility of 34 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, indicating non-directional risk.

Wendy's International (NYSE: WEN) -- volatility Elevated as Arbs expect deal on strategic options review. WEN is recently up $1.33 to $40.32 on unconfirmed chatter of a $49 cash private equity offer. WEN announced "formation of special committee of independent directors to review strategic options to enhance shareholder value on 4/26/07." WEN June option implied volatility is at 32 and June is at 29; above its 26-week average of 25 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Option volume leaders today are: Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) and Network Appliance (NYSE: NTAP).

Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: CACI International Inc (CAI), SAIC, Inc (SAI), CenturyTel, Inc (CTL), Honda Motor Co (HMC) and Micron Technology, Inc (MU) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded CACI International (NYSE: CAI) and SAIC Inc (NYSE: SAI) to Underweight from Equal Weight to reflect concerns over an increasingly unfavorable political environment as the risk of reduced funding for federal IT initiatives grows.

• Soleil downgraded shares of CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL) to Sell from Hold on valuation and a possibly active hurricane season.

• Honda Motor Co (NYSE: HMC) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.

• Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs as the firm believes improvements in DRAM pricing will be short lived and that the company will continue to generate losses given its poor cost structure.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• CSX Corp (NYSE: CSX) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral at Calyon on valuation and deteriorating volume.

• Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.

• Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc (AMEX: IMA) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.

• WebSideStory, Inc (NASDAQ: WSSI) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC, citing short-term execution risks.

• Jefferies downgraded Cerner Corp (NASDAQ: CERN) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Harrah's (HET), Motorola (MOT) and L-3 Communication (LLL) were notable downgrades today:

• Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:HET) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup based on valuation, as the firm doesn't expect any further competing bids to surface.
• Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) was downgraded at Neutral from Outperform at Cowen, explaining to their clients that its checks indicated the American market has softened significantly since its November update; GSM channels will reportedly look to have additional inventory a week away from Christmas, but sees few immediate catalysts.
• L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LLL) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Cowen following the Linguist contract loss, a tough upcoming ETASS recompete and a mixed new-business outlook.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Ahead of their first quarter report, Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at WR Hambrecht, as the firm has concerns regarding increased DRAM capacity and increased competition in the weakening Image Sector market.
• CIBC downgraded Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ:MXIM) to Sector Performer from Sector Outperformer as gross margins have not stabilized and are likely to be pressured further as the company focuses on revenue growth.
• AG Edwards downgraded Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) to Hold from Buy based on valuation.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Circuit City (CC), Best Buy (BBY) and Eli Lilly (LLY) top today's list of downgrades.

• Prudential downgraded Circuit City Stores Inc. (NYSE:CC) to Underweight from Neutral, with a $22 target, citing concerns of flat-panel TV price erosion and the high cost structure as compared with Best Buy and other retailers.
• In addition, Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) was also downgraded by the firm to Neutral from Overweight with a $50 target, citing third-quarter margins that were below expectations.
• Credit Suisse removed Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) from their U.S. Focus List.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded L-T-L transporters JB Hunt Transportation Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) and YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:YRCW), citing valuation.
• Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) was downgraded at Bernstein to Market Perform from Outperform, based on the lower subs forecasts and the fact that Sirius is more reliant in the retail after-market than competitor XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:XMSR).
• AG Edwards downgraded Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU) to Sell from Hold, citing the DRAM pricing risk; the firm said prices are currently running at more than twice its projected trend and it sees a risk of a correction in the next few months.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Nokia (NOK) and selected restaurants topped today's extensive list of downgrades:

• Due to slowing in the wireless sector, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK) to Neutral from Buy, following Texas Instruments' (NYSE:TXN) lowered guidance;
• Citing valuations and a deteriorating outlook, Buckingham downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE:DRI) and Wendy's Inernational Inc. (NYSE:WEN) to Neutral from Accumulate, as well as Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM) and Jack in the Box Inc. (NYSE:JBX) to Underperform from Neutral.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• JP Morgan downgraded Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU) to Neutral from Overweight based on concerns of growing inventory levels and a weaker-than-expected flash market in the first half of 2007.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was removed from Sandler's Focus List.
• Calyon downgraded Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE:JCI) to Neutral from Buy with an $85 target, citing valuation and the weakening economy.
• RBC Capital Markets downgraded Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) to Underperform from Sector Perform on valuation.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).