Intermune (NASDAQ: ITMN) closed at $13.41. ITMN-191/R7128 combination data in January 2009. ITMN's Pirfenidone (inhibits collagen synthesis) data is expected in Q1 of 2009. Robert Baird has a Neutral rating on ITMN. ITMN January option implied volatility is at 189; April is at 175; above its 26-week average of 136 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Onyx Pharma (NASDAQ: ONXX), a developer of cancer therapies, closed at $30.09. ONXX was raised to Overweight verses Neutral at JPMorgan. ONXX January option implied volatility of 76 is above its 26-week average of 69 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

OSI Pharma (NASDAQ: OSIP), a developer of cancer therapies, closed at $33.16. OSIP January option implied volatility is at 78, July is at 60. OSIP average option implied volatility over the last 26-weeks is 67 according to Track Data, suggesting larger near term risk with less outer month risk.

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

Onyx Pharma (NASDAQ: ONXX) is recently is down $9.23 to $35.70 in pre-open trading.

ONXX and its partner Bayer halted Phase 3 trials of Nexavar and after the company reported a larger than expected Q4 loss.

ONXX overall option implied volatility of 63 is above its 26-week average of 57 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Nokia (NOK) and Pfizer (PFE) topped today's list of downgrades.

• Prudential downgraded Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) to Neutral from Overweight to reflect what they believe will be a slowing of the handset market in 2007, as well as the company's pending legal battle with Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM).
• Following the unexpected halt of Torcetrapib, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was downgraded by a multitude of companies: At Lehman, to Underweight from Overweight; at JP Morgan, to Neural from Overweight; at Merrill Lynch, to Neutral from Buy; and at Morgan Stanley, to Equal Weight from Overweight.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ONXX) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Prudential following the failure of their Phase III melanoma trial.
• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets; the firm expects limited near-term revenue momentum from integration risks and internal/external uncertainties.
• ThinkEquity downgraded Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:NVLS) to Accumulate from Buy, as they believe Novellus is no longer deeply undervalued and only expects a gradual margin expansion from here.

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