Citadel Storms Into Google

The institutional appetite for Google (GOOG Quote) isn't going away.

Over the weekend, Chicago-based Citadel Investment Group disclosed that it owned call options exercisable into 3.5 million shares of Google stock.

Exercising those options would make Citadel the third-largest buyer of Google stock since the search engine's August initial public offering, according to public filings. Citadel's holdings would place it behind only mutual fund giants Fidelity, which in early September said it owned 5.2 million Google shares, and Legg Mason, which in October disclosed ownership of 4.3 million shares.

Citadel's filing spotlights the supply/demand at issues at work in the meteoric rise of Google's stock during its three months in the public eye. ...