The bulls were banking on Regions Financial yesterday with the stock near its 52-week highs.

OptionMonster's tracking systems showed early buying in the March 8 calls for $0.12 and $0.13. More than 6,650 contracts traded in the session, nearly twice the previous open interest of 3,583 at the strike. That indicates that new money was put to work on the long side.

Those traders now have the right to buy shares for $8 in the next two months, no matter how high they may go. That will result in some nice leverage in the event of a continued rally, but the calls will expire worthless if the stock doesn't move.

It may be hard to believe, but one well-known name was up 22 percent yesterday on five times its normal average volume; and it wasn't Apple, Netflix, or Facebook. It was none other than RadioShack, a well-past its prime company that finally showed a little life after a free fall of massive proportions. In fact, whenever I hear Tom Petty's song "Free Fallin' " I can't help but be reminded of RadioShack.

Companies often get hurt for good reasons; in RadioShack's case it's been declining revenue and margins resulting from very stiff competition in retail electronics. Net profit margins that were in the 5-plus-percent range fell to 1.6 percent in 2011, and are now negative on a trailing 12-month basis. Free cash flow, which has been positive for several consecutive years, has also gone negative on a trailing 12-month basis.

This was a company that has been difficult to be interested in. As shares fell from the $23 range in October 2010, to $7 the following March, I began to see other value investors becoming intrigued, and taking positions. It simply was not "cheap" enough for me at that point. My view of RadioShack was still sour; I viewed it as the older style electronics store that I'd rarely, if ever, set foot in.

Ryanair Holdings shares have had a great run over the past year, rising 45 percent, but Deutsche Bank said it's still not too late to buy.

The investment bank raised the target price on Ryanair shares by 25 percent on Monday to 6.75 euros from 5.40 euros on better than expected third-quarter results as well as their competitors' recent struggles.

The U.K.-listed shares traded at 5.61 euros on Tuesday.

Dividend stocks lagged the broader market in 2012, as the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index returned just 10.8 percent last year, compared with a 13.4 percent gains for the SPDR S&P 500. In addition, according to a report from Bespoke Investment Group, the decile of highest-yielding stocks in the S&P 500 fell on average during 2012.

As we approached the fiscal cliff at the end of last year, one concern was that dividend tax rates would rise. This did happen, but raising the maximum dividend tax rate to 20 percent from 15 percent was far from the worst-case scenario. As a result, I believe there are attractive buying opportunities in the universe of dividend-paying stocks. Even with income plays, I like to seek out growth; namely, companies that raise their dividends year-in and year-out.

Currently, no one in the market does that better than Diebold. The maker of automated-teller and voting machines has boosted its dividend 59 consecutive years, and I believe that management will take the streak to 60 years in February.

Apple was downgraded on Monday at R.W. Baird, where the senior equity analyst responsible for the rating just isn't convinced that consensus estimates are correct.

"We think there is a real downside to estimates, and it's going to be tough for the stock to outperform over the next several months," said Will Power, whose firm downgraded Apple to "neutral" from "outperform" with a price target of $465, well under the current consensus price target of $627.72.

Even as the bank-stock rally accelerated this month, some of the best-performing large-cap companies may still be undervalued.

After the KBW Bank Index dropped 25 percent in 2011, with global firms like Bank of America and Citigroup posting epic declines, the index rocketed 30 percent last year. Bank of America led the way, more than doubling, while Citigroup jumped 51 percent.

The KBW Bank Index rose 6 percent from the start of the year through Friday's close at 51.28, putting it on track to double last year's returns if it continues at that pace.

Nvidia has been holding support around $12, and now the bulls are looking for the graphics-chip maker to rally.

OptionMonster's tracking systems detected unusual activity in the semiconductor stock on Thursday and Friday. First they bought the June 12 calls for $1.11, then they came back the next day to snap up the September 13 calls for $1.05 and $1.06. Volume exceeded open interest both sessions, indicating that new money was put to work.

The calls, which lock in the price where the stock can be purchased, can generate major leverage in the event of a rally. But they also have the potential to become worthless if the stock doesn't move.

Apple and Samsung remain the talk of the tech world as the two titans battle for mobile supremacy. The world may have reacted differently to Apple and Samsung's respective earnings this week, but there's more to the numbers than meets the eye.

Samsung's fourth-quarter net profit rose 76 percent to $6.6 billion, as "solid sales" of the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 helped boost results. The Korean firm has been one of the few Android-based handset makers to earn significant money, as it goes up against the Apple behemoth in smartphones and tablets. Samsung has been able to do this because it offers something close to what Apple offers with its iOS ecosystem, even in a fragmented Android market. Android is owned by Google.

Most others handset makers, including Research In Motion, Nokia and others have struggled to turn profits, as consumers increasingly pick iOS (Apple) or Android.

As the enterprise market begins to ramp up its purchases of Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system, one analyst sees the tech giant's shares gaining traction.

"The stock's kind of a sneaky long — nobody likes it, but it keeps kind of drifting higher," Rick Sherlund, a managing director at Nomura Securities, said Friday on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."

Sherlund has a "buy" rating and a $32 price target on Microsoft stock. On Thursday, the company edged above Wall Street's earnings forecasts but missed revenue estimates.

Option traders have been focused on the energy sector for weeks, and yesterday they turned their attention to BP.

The March 46 calls stood out in particular, seeing more than 5,800 contracts trade for $0.38 and $0.39. That volume was slightly above the open interest in the strike before yesterday's trading began, indicating that new money was being put to work.

Calls lock in the price where investors can buy shares, so they can produce significant leverage in the event of a rally. But if the stock doesn't move, these options will expire worthless.