Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX), a marketer of footwear, closed at $36.94. CROX December option implied volatility of 97 is above its 26-week average of 63 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Nastech Pharm (NASDAQ: NSTK), a pharmaceutical company focused on molecular biology-based drug delivery technologies, closed at $7.09.

• James Cramer said on Nov. 1 when NSTK closed at $14.68, NSTK is one of those "yet-to-become-profitable biotechs with the ability to make you boatloads of cash if it get it right."
  
• NSTK overall option implied volatility of 102 is above its 26-week average of 65 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

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

SmartPros (AMEX: PED) is trading up 24% on positive earnings. And PeopleSupport (NASDAQ: PSPT) is up 16% on record results for the last quarter.

Nastech Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: NSTK) is off 21% after Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) pulled out of a joint venture with the company. And Acme Packet (NASDAQ: APKT) is off 12% on a drop in last quarter's profits.

Pre-market prices may not be the same as the price at the open.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Many traders review short interest for added insight each month. Interestingly enough, many traders bet against Jim Cramer picks and they do so with short selling. The truth is that just because a pundit of any size adds a large percentage gain to a stock, it actually doesn't change the fundamentals. It does however raise the interest in the issue.

So, we all know that many traders love to pick on Cramer. Here are some interesting points on Cramer's ongoing picks for 2007 and looking at the short selling trends from May to June (2007):

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) was Cramer's top speculative pick for the year: June short interest was 119.9 million shares, up 9.7% from the 109.3 million shares short in May.

Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SVNT) was Cramer's top speculative biotech pick this year: June short interest was 7.95 million, up 6.6% from 7.45 million shares short in May.

Nastech Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: NSTK) was another fairly recent Cramer biotech pick, which was a biotech zombie he thought would turn around: June short interest was 5.09 million shares, up 21% from the 4.2 million shares short in May.

As a reminder, short sellers often have many reasons for short selling. Sometimes it is a pure bet against a company, just as it would seem, other times it might be as a hedge in an upcoming event or a hedge for an options trade. But out of these, you know there have to be some of the shorts selling the stock just because they don't like the Cramer plays.

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Monday March 26

• Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Analysts will evaluate Tiffany's holiday performance, new products and note management's comments on global diamond and jewelry trends.
• Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) to hold analyst meeting at 8:30am.
• Canon Inc ADR (NYSE: CAJ) to hold shareholder meeting at 10pm.

Tuesday March 27

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) to hold shareholder meeting at 9:30am.
• McCormick and Company Inc (NYSE: MKC) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10am. Analysts will focus on McCormick's consumer segment [largest business], but will also note industrial business line performance, new spices/ingredients and commodity costs.

Wednesday March 28

• Teco Energy Inc (NYSE: TE) to provide 2007 outlook; webcast at 8am.
• Media Telecommunications & Entertainment Conference 3/28-3/29

Thursday March 29

• PDUFA date for Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc's (NASDAQ: NSTK) Calcitonin-Salmon Nasal Spray for Osteoporosis.

Friday March 30

• Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ: FINL) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Note that the company issued disappointing guidance earlier this month.
• CKE Restaurants Inc (NYSE: CKR), the owner of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants, to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 9am. Analysts will review the company's same store sales by restaurant chain, average lunch/dinner checks, menu changes and margins. Analysts will also evaluate management's the performance of breakfast offerings, and the company's chain expansion plan.

On tonight's MAD MONEY on CNBC, Jim Cramer said that Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is being kept too low. He thinks the Chinese are back into buying commodities and the company is leveraged to commodities more than to housing. The subprime meltdown is not a worry for it. Cramer thinks the commodities going back up is much more important to it. The Yen strengthening is also actually good for the company in that the Japanese can buy our products for cheaper. He thinks CAT has the best dealer network out there, but the stock is still sleeping. If it doesn't run, you have a $7.5 billion buyback plan and a director just bought some.

Cramer also discussed Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) as one where he had interviewed the CEO of the company back when he started doing MAD MONEY. This went fom $5 to $24 even though it still doesn't have a product on the market. He wanted to review it now that it has gone back down close to $18.00. One that he likes in the sector just as much as REGN back-when is Nastech Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:NSTK). NSTK loses money and it lost Merck on the obesity study, and for a while it only issued press releases. The stock is thought of as a joke, but now you must own it if you are a biotech speculator. He reviewed the company for five days before reviewing it. It has $90 million cash and has compounds for RNA Interference tests, obesity, osteoporosis and others. None of the products are commercial, yet, but it has plenty of cash. When it got crushed they left the Street with no reason to own the stock. At the end of the year they stopped issuing press releases and now the main seller has finally cleaned out of the stock. Cramer thinks the compounds may actually work and Wall Street doesn't know it. They have also hired a great industry person to help it work on compounds. He thinks NSTK can be the next REGN type of move.

Jon C. Ogg
March 16, 2007