Sears Holdings (SHLD) is up $3.16 to $36.72 after an analyst appeared on CNBC and mentioned potential for the retailer to go private. Options volume is running 3X the daily average, with 44,000 calls and 16,000 puts traded in Sears so far. The top trades look like a Jan13 45 – 55 call spread bought for $3, 10000X to open. The position seems somewhat ambitious since the 45s are 22.5 percent out-of-the-money. However, the stock fetched more than $45 as recently as 12/23, the trading day before shares tumbled 27.2 percent on disappointing sales guidance. Today’s 2013 call spread trader is possibly looking for the stock to recapture that loss, and a bit more, in 2012. Meanwhile, implied volatility in SHLD continues to move higher — up 9 percent to 110 and new 52-week highs.