Want to see what buyout speculation can do to a stock in real-time? We have just such an opportunity this afternoon, as reports are rolling in that Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: sentiment, chart, options) is in advanced talks to acquire Electronic Data Systems (EDS: sentiment, chart, options) for $12 billion to $13 billion, according to reports on The Wall Street Journal. The chart below illustrates EDS's surge of more than 27% shortly after the Journal's report.

On the sentiment side, short sellers are no where to be found, as less than 1.5% of the stock's float is sold short. Meanwhile, options players are quite complacent, as EDS's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.50 ranks near the midpoint of its annual range. Look for both of these groups to become active in short order to take advantage of the deal.