Buzz Stocks: Cypress Semiconductor, Wal-Mart, Sony

Futures are pointed higher this morning, as rumors that China could unveil a new round of stimulus measures circle the Street. Meanwhile, among specific equities in focus are tech name Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:CY), retailer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), and entertainment issue Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE).

• CY is poised to pop 14% out of the gate -- and possibly into annual-high territory -- after news of its $4 billion all-stock merger with Spansion Inc. (NYSE:CODE) was met with no fewer than seven bullish brokerage notes. The combined company will reportedly have annual sales of $2 billion, and will "create a leading global provider of [microcontrollers] and memories needed in today's embedded systems." Heading into today's session, CY was sitting 0.7% below its year-to-date breakeven mark, and closed Monday at $10.43. Should the equity continue its M&A-related rally, an additional round of upgrades and/or price-target hikes could be on the horizon. Currently, 75% of covering analysts maintain a "hold" or "strong sell" suggestion toward Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, while the consensus 12-month price target of $10.40 sits just below present trading levels.


• Although the National Retail Federation projected a lackluster Cyber Monday, WMT this morning said its online sales rose to record heights. Specifically, the retailer reported more than 1.5 billion page views on its site between the Thanksgiving holiday and Cyber Monday, with 70% of traffic occurring on mobile devices. Wall Street seems pleased with the results, with the stock pointed higher ahead of the bell. Today's projected price move just echoes the equity's recent trajectory, with shares of WMT up nearly 19% from their mid-October low of $72.61. Plus, the stock closed at $86.22 yesterday -- just 2.1% below its all-time peak of $88.09, tagged in last Friday's holiday-shortened session. Going forward, an unwinding of skepticism in the face of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'s uptrend could help propel the shares higher. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.23 ranks in the bearishly skewed 84th annual percentile.


• The FBI said it is investigating the hack of SNE, in which multiple unreleased and still-in-theater films -- such as "Annie" and "Fury" -- were bootlegged on numerous unauthorized websites. Along similar lines, Sony Corp (ADR) announced it has hired security specialist FireEye Inc (NASDAQ:FEYE) -- which recently exposed a Wall Street-related cyberespionage operation -- to examine the extent of the damage. On the charts, SNE is sporting an impressive 28.1% year-to-date advance, and just yesterday, hit a fresh 52-week peak of $22.32, before settling the session at $22.15. Option traders, however, have been bracing for a pullback, as evidenced by the equity's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 0.49, which ranks higher than all other readings taken in the past year. Simply stated, puts have been bought to open over calls at an annual-high clip in recent months.