CF Industries (CF - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the situation surrounding two takeover deals continues to get murkier. Agrium (AGU) announced this morning that CF's stockholders tendered 62% of their shares into a hostile takeover offer launched by AGU. AGU extended the offer, which originally was to expire yesterday, to December 18. Meanwhile, CF's board said that it does not believe that the tender results reflect stockholder support for Agrium's offer. At the same time, Terra Industries (TRA) is fending off a hostile bid made by CF. The uncertainty surrounding this situation is holding back CF shares and if you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on the stock.

This morning, CF opened at $83.60. So far today the stock has hit a high of $82.50 and a low of $84.48. As of 11:50, TRA is trading at $82.71, down $3.58 (-4.2%). The chart for CF looks neutral and S&P gives CF a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Dow Chemical (DOW - option chain) shares rose Thursday after the company said it will sell its powder coatings business to Netherlands-based Akzo Nobel. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Dow said it will use the proceeds to reduce its debt. The move is part of Dow's plan to sell noncore assets in order to raise more than $3.5 billion. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on DOW.

DOW opened Thursday morning at $28.20. In morning trading the stock has hit a low of $27.90 and a high of $28.88. As of 12:00, DOW was trading at $28.37 up 1.66 (6.2%). The chart for DOW looks neutral and S&P gives DOW a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS - option chain) stock is trading lower today after announcing this morning that it has made a formal takeover bid for exploration company Aquiline Resources (TSX: AQI). PAAS will offer Aquiline shareholders 0.2495 of a PAAS common share plus 0.1 of a PAAS common share purchase warrant for each Aquiline common share. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on PAAS.

This morning, PAAS opened at $25.71. So far today the stock has hit a high of $25.75 and a low of $24.35. As of 11:40, PAAS is trading at $24.52, down $1.40 (-5.4%). The chart for PAAS looks bullish.

Cablevision (NYSE: CVC - option chain) shares are rising today after a feature in Barron's indicated that the company could be an attractive takeover target now that it has decided to spin off New York City sports arena Madison Square Garden and related assets. These assets include MSG Television Network, and the New York Rangers and Knickerbockers. Both teams play at the Garden, which is an arena located in midtown Manhattan. Barron's says that a spin-off of MSG would make Cablevision's balance sheet much more attractive. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on CVC.

CVC opened this morning at $24.74. So far today the stock has hit a low of $24.40 and a high of $25.00. As of 11:55, CVC is trading at $24.53 up 21 cents (0.9%). The chart for CVC looks neutral and S&P gives CVC a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Danaher (NYSE: DHR - option chain) shares are rising today after the company agreed to purchase AB Sciex from MDS Inc. (NYSE: MDZ) and Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE) for a combined $1.1 billion. DHR also announced more details of its restructuring, doubling the number of jobs eliminated.

If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on DHR.

This morning saw no shortages of deals, and now add one more. The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) said it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL) for $4 billion in cash and stock. Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, including Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, among others.

MVL shares jumped about 25% in pre-market trade as shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash, plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share, which values each Marvel share at $50. MVL closed at $38.65 Friday. Meanwhile, Disney shares fell about 2.6% in pre-market, but have recovered after the beginning of trade.

Sina (NASDAQ: SINA - option chain) shares are rising today after the company was upgraded by Deutsche Bank from Sell to Hold with a price target of $31. This action comes even though Deutsche thinks that Sina's deal for Focus Media Holdings (NASDAQ: FMCN) is getting more likely to fall through. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on SINA.

SINA opened this morning at $30.22. So far today the stock has hit a low of $30.09 and a high of $32.60. As of 11:35, SINA is trading at $32.42 up $2.42 (8.1%). The chart for SINA looks bullish.

Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW - option chain) shares are headed higher today after the company closed its acquisition of Rohm & Haas. This allows DOW to announce today it plans to sell Morton Salt to German company K+S Aktiengesellschaft for nearly $1.7 billion. This will help DOW stabilize its finances, which were left in a lurch when Kuwaiti financing on the Rohm & Haas deal fell through. Left out in the cold in this deal is Compass Minerals International (NYSE: CMP), a salt company that had been expected to get a bid from K+S. If you think that DOW won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on that stock.

DOW opened this morning at $9.46. So far today the stock has hit a low of $9.25 and a high of $9.75. As of 12:05, DOW is trading at $9.69, up 88 cents (10.0%). The chart for DOW looks neutral and S&P gives DOW a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK - option chain) shares are headed higher today after the company signed a distribution deal worth $1.76 billion with China PTAC Communications Service Co. The deal could give NOK an important foothold in the Asian handset market. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on NOK.

NOK opened this morning at $11.49. So far today the stock has hit a low of $11.47 and a high of $11.77. As of 11:35, NOK is trading at $11.75, up 0.50 (4.4%). The chart for NOK looks neutral and S&P gives NOK a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO - option chain) shares are headed higher today after Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) announced it will team up with TIVO to deliver movies directly to customers' television sets through TIVO digital video recorders. BBI will also sell TIVO products at its stores and website. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on TIVO.

TIVO opened this morning at $7.48. So far today the stock has hit a low of $7.10 and a high of $7.48. As of 11:20, TIVO is trading at $7.19, up 21 cents (3.0%). The chart for TIVO looks neutral and S&P gives TIVO a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Constellation Energy Group (NYSE: CEG - option chain) shares have moved higher today after French power company EDF offered a $6.5 billion bid for half of CEG's nuclear business and other assets. The offer challenges an earlier bid from MidAmerican, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A).

If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on CEG.

CEG opened this morning at $30.00. So far today the stock has hit a low of $27.37 and a high of $30.17. As of 12:35, CEG is trading at $28.04, up $2.89 (11.5%). The chart for CEG looks neutral and S&P gives CEG a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a December bull-put credit spread below the $22.50 range.

SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK - option chain) shares are dropping today after the company agreed to sell part of its capacity in a joint venture with Toshiba. For $1 billion, Toshiba will buy 30% of the manufacturing capacity in the joint venture. SNDK is getting trashed today as investors presumably don't like the idea of selling part of the company in the middle of an economic storm, when values might not be at their highest. SanDisk also reports its Q3 earnings after the close today, with analysts expecting a 27 cents per share loss. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on SNDK.

This morning, SNDK opened at $15.81. So far today the stock has hit a low of $13.83 and a high of $15.85. As of 12:15, SNDK is trading at $14.33, down $1.18 (-7.6%). The chart for SNDK looks neutral and S&P gives SNDK a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a November bear-call credit spread above the $25 range.

3M (NYSE: MMM - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced it will buy license plate manufacturer Financiere Burgienne. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. I am encouraged by most companies who are willing to make a deal at this point in the market cycle, because they are most likely getting these new assets for much less than the asking price would have been for the same thing a year ago. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on MMM.

MMM opened this morning at $58.75. So far today the stock has hit a low of $56.01 and a high of $58.75. As of 12:20, MMM is trading at $57.43, up $3.17 (5.8%). The chart for MMM looks neutral and S&P gives MMM a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a January bull-put credit spread below the $45 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 11.1% return in just three months as long as MMM is above $45 at January expiration. 3M would have to fall by more than 22% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

MMM hasn't been below $50 at all in the past year and has shown support around $50 recently.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in MMM.

SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR - option chain) shares are soaring higher today after Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it has chosen SPWR to supply up to 800 megawatts of renewable energy. On the news, an analyst at Merrill Lynch also upgraded SPWR to "Buy" from "Hold." If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on SPWR.

SPWR opened this morning at $87.64. So far today the stock has hit a low of $87.57 and a high of $93.93. As of 12:55, SPWR is trading at $93.26, up $14.69 (18.7%). The chart for SPWR looks neutral and S&P gives SPWR a 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a December bull-put credit spread below the $55 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think, but willstill leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 11.1% return in just four months as long as SPWR is above $55 at December expiration. Sunpower would have to fall by more than 40% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

SPWR hasn't been below $55 since March and has shown support around $71 recently. With the way the political climate is shaping up, it looks like some form of solar power should be here for quite a while.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in SPWR.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) shares are trading higher today after the company announced it has completed its acquisition of Navteq, a provider of comprehensive digital map information. Nokia hopes the acquisition will help it expand its technology platform. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on NOK.

After hitting a one-year high of $42.22 in November, the stock hit a one-year low of $23.58 last week. NOK opened this morning at $25.16. So far today the stock has hit a low of $25.16 and a high of $25.73. As of 11:55, NOK is trading at $25.59, up 0.70 (2.8%). The chart for NOK looks bearish and improving slightly, while S&P gives the stock a bullish 4 Stars (out of 5) Buy rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an August bull-put credit spread below the $23 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 11.1% return in just five weeks as long as NOK is above $23 at August expiration. Nokia would have to fall by more than 10% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

NOK hasn't been below $23.50 at all in the past year and has shown support around $23.50 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out on 7/17) disappoint, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the fact that is has dropped sharply over much of the past year and expectations for earnings may be muted.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in NOK.