Shares of BB&T Corp. , rose as much as 4.5 percent on Wednesday, and options volume soared for a second day, on speculation the No. 12 U.S. bank might be sold.
BB&T, which is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, operates more than 1,350 banking offices in 11 states stretching from Indiana to Florida, as well as Washington D.C.
Wells Fargo & Co. , the No. 5 bank, has been mentioned as a possible buyer, according to a report from Richard Bove, a banking analyst for Hoefer & Arnett in Pinellas Park, Florida.
Howard Atkins, the bank's chief financial officer, has on multiple occasions told Reuters the San Francisco-based bank would consider smaller acquisitions in its "footprint," essentially the western two-thirds of the United States.
Wells Fargo on Wednesday said it will buy most of the assets of mutual fund company Strong Capital Management Inc. for an undisclosed price.
Bove wrote that some analysts, having interviewed a senior Wells Fargo official involved in acquisitions, appear to have concluded, and wrote, that Wells Fargo might expand in the U.S. Southeast, if the price were attractive.
"What we feel relatively certain about is that Wells Fargo has not changed its acquisition policies," he wrote. "If BB&T is sold it will be sold because Chief Executive Officer John Allison, has decided that it is time to sell. We are not aware that Mr. Allison has made such a decision."
Wells Fargo spokeswoman Julia Tunis said: "We do not comment on rumors and speculation." BB&T spokesman Bob Denham said: "We don't comment on rumors in the marketplace."
BB&T shares traded Wednesday afternoon at $37.49, up $1.49, or 4.1 percent, after earlier rising to $37.63.
Roughly 22,277 calls and 11,769 puts on BB&T shares traded across four U.S. options exchanges, market research firm Track Data said. That exceeded more than 30 times the average recent trading volume in the options.
A call option, a bet the underlying stock will rise, gives a buyer the right to buy the stock at a fixed price within a set period of time. A put purchase, a bet the underlying stock will fall, carries the right to sell that stock. (Additional reporting by Doris Frankel in Chicago)
