US STOCKS-Vimicro shares up 14 pct amid spike in bullish call buying

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed

NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Shares (Frankfurt: DI6.F - news) of China-based Vimicro International Corp are up more than 14 percent amid a spike in bullish call buying on Monday.

Brokerage firm Needham raised its target price on the technology stock. Options volume on Vimicro is up to nearly 42 times the normal level, with 2,551 calls and 37 puts traded, according to data from options analytics firm Trade Alert.

The April $5 strike calls, which expire at the close on April 17, are the most active, according to Trade Alert, with 2,020 contracts traded, almost all of which were new positions. The cost of those options is up to $1.80 from $1 on Friday, as the stock's gains put the $5 strike in the money.

The shares are up 14.5 percent after touching a new year-high of $5.65, with more than 1.5 million shares changing hands compared with the stock's 25-day daily moving average of 246,000 shares traded.

Index snapshot at 12:33:

* S&P 500 is falling 5.22 points, 0.26 percent.

* Nasdaq Comp is adding 4.42 points, 0.1 percent.

* Dow industrials are down 16.01 points, 0.09 percent.

* Russell 2000 is falling 0.88 points, 0.08 percent.

* S&P MidCap is down 3.73 points, 0.26 percent.

* S&P SmallCap is off 0.93 points, 0.14 percent. (Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)