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U.S. stock market report 1651 EST 11Nov2009-HP to buy 3Com for $2.7 bln ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hewlett-Packard Co said on Wednesday it agreed to buy network equipment maker 3Com Corp for $2.7 billion to help improve HP's position in China and expand its network gear business.

HP said it would pay $7.90 per share for 3Com, giving the company an enterprise value of approximately $2.7 billion.

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Shares of HP, a Dow component, fell 0.5 percent to $49.73 in after-hours trading while 3Com soared 35 percent to $7.66.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net 1627 ET 11Nov2009-Sun Micro call options grab interest ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Investors eyed Sun Microsystems calls, employing strategies tied to the timing and conditions of Oracle Corp's acquisition of Sun. JAVA shares rose 3.93 percent to $8.47. While U.S. authorities have approved the deal, European Union antitrust regulators on Monday said it would hurt competition in the database market. One trade was a large bet that the deal will go off around $9, where the shares hovered for the last six months, said optionMonster analyst Chris McKhann on the website.

"We see one block of 35,000 of the Dec $9 calls sold for 11 cents and another block of 5,000 just minutes later," he said. The open interest at that strike was 3,305 contracts, so the action represents newly opened positions. It suggests the trader is willing to make a very large bet that shares are back around, but not above, that $9 level by December expiration, he said.

But some also bought $9 calls that expire in December and Jan 2010 on continued speculation the deal will get done and may be at a price that is more advantageous to JAVA, said Joe Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net 1318 ET 11Nov2009-RF Micro advances on new product release ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shares of RF Micro Devices Inc rallied on Wednesday, lifted after the chipmaker released a new product for high-power commercial and defense applications.

The RF3931 is the first of five gallium nitride transistors to be released for mass production, with the rest scheduled to be released over the next two quarters, the company said in a statement.

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The stock gained 5.8 percent to $4.41.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net 1307 ET 11Nov2009-Investor takes bullish stance in MetroPCS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Options action on wireless carrier MetroPCS Communications suggests a change of heart for one investor who booked profits on a previously established bearish position and then initiated a new bullish stance in the February 2010 contract, said Interactive Brokers Group option analyst Caitlin Duffy.

The trader established a February risk reversal by selling 15,000 puts at the $5 strike spread against the purchase of the same number of calls at the higher $7.50 strike for a net cost of a nickel per contract. The position suggests the investor expects shares to top $7.50 by February expiration, she said.

At the same time, the player closed out a 15,000-lot put position at the November $7.50 strike established back on Sept. 16 when shares were at $10. "The investor accurately predicted shares were unlikely to remain at the $10 level, and thus accumulated significant profits to the downside by taking the long put position," she said. The investor today pocketed net profits of $1.37 per contract from the sale of the Nov puts.

Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS

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