Brief: Buyout talk buoys gaming stock

Tuesday, Dec. 15, 1998 | 12:18 p.m.

Circus shares were trading quietly in a narrow range until about 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Monday when word spread among Big Board traders that a large LBO firm might make a bid for the Las Vegas-based company.

The stock soared more than 13 percent in heavy volume before settling back slightly. It finally closed at $12.25, up 81.25 cents or 7.1 percent, on volume of 1.65 million shares, nearly three times the average number traded daily over the past three months.

The stock retreated this morning to 11 7/8.

At one point Monday afternoon, Circus hit $13 a share. Its performance for the day was in sharp contrast to that of the overall market; all indices fell sharply.

A Circus spokeswoman said she didn't know why the stock price jumped and that the company had no news pending.

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