Options volume in Nokia (NOK) is running 3.5X the daily average, being driven by a buyer of 24,000 Jul 8 calls on the stock for 20 cents per contract. The position looks opening and tied 395K shares at $4.88. Shares of the Finnish communications giant have not performed well in 2011 and are down 52.6 percent year-to-date. Today’s upside call purchase might be a bet that shares will rebound in the first half of 2012. NOK last fetched more than $8 per share since late-May. An analyst said today that he expects the company to unveil a new Lumia 800 at a CES event in January 2012.

*Scanning all single-stocks subject to 2500 contracts minimum call or put volume

Credit Suisse (CS) adds 71 cents to $23.29 after Bloomberg reported that the firm is consolidating banking operations to cut costs. The top options trade in CS so far today is a 3,555-lot of Jan 25 calsl bought for 90 cents per contract. 11,030 now traded against just 79 contracts in open interest. Jan 23 and 24 calls are busy as well. 14,000 calls and 1,560 puts traded on the bank so far, as some players might be hoping that positive corporate news will offset the persistent worries about the debt crisis that have dogged shares of the European banks in recent months. CS shares are down 42.3 percent year-to-date.

*Scanning all single-stocks subject to 2500 contracts minimum call or put volume

Todays takeout of Novellus Systems by Lam Research has shares up 21% near $42, and it looks like a 4million payday for one or two savvy option traders who built the largest block of call open interest in NVLS over the past six weeks. Today we saw a closing sale of 35K March 40 calls for 4.45 vs 42.30 stock, and trade history shows the position was opened in two tranches, 25K for 1.30 on Oct 31 when shares were near $33 and another 10K on Nov 22 for 1.35 when shares were near the same level.