Top Takes From RealMoney

2. Options Look to Teradyne

Pete Najarian
1/23/2009 1:43 PM EST

Chip-equipment maker Teradyne(TER) has been pummeled along with the rest of the semiconductor industry but is trading more than 7% higher today and is attracting options players as the company approaches its earnings report next week.

OptionMonster's tracking systems have lit up, with the TER 5 strike calls traded across multiple months. But the most activity is not at the near-month February 5 strike but instead at the April 5 calls, where 8,000 contracts have traded against open interest of 1,899.

Institutional buyers have stepped up and bought those April calls at prices of 55 cents, 60 cents and 65 cents. The stock still trades below book value even with today's rise, and, as with any pullback, traders have become more interested in TER options ahead of the quarterly report Wednesday after the market closes.

3. Geron

Adam Feuerstein
1/23/2009 12:50 PM EST

I'm getting a lot of email today asking for reaction to the news that Geron(GERN) was granted FDA approval to begin the first human clinical trial of a drug derived from embryonic stem cells.

I say don't buy into the hype.

Geron has a long track record of over-promising and under-delivering. In fact, the company's only real accomplishment after years and years of effort has been to burn through tons of shareholder cash.

Before you send emails that blast me for spitting on stem-cell therapies, understand that my cynicism is directed at Geron, not the promise of stem cells. Today's news was well orchestrated by Geron -- a splashy story in The New York Times, a conference call and an appearance on CNBC. But let's get real: Geron is starting a small phase I study, and with Friday's run, the stock's market cap now stands around $600 million. And for that, you get very little.

Sorry, but Geron looks more like a short to me than a long.