King Digital's Stock Jumps On Heavy Volume; Analyst Cites 'Soda' Popularity

Shares of King Digital Entertainment ran up 9.4% to a three-month high in afternoon trade Thursday, with volume already more than three times the full-day average. Analyst Arvind Bhatia at Sterne Agee attributed the stock's strength to the fact that King's "Candy Crush Soda Saga" game, the sister title to its blockbuster "Candy Crush Saga" game, is now the top app in the U.S. on Apple's iOS app store's fee download chart, following the worldwide launch a few days ago. He added that "Soda" is No. 12 in the U.S. on the iOS top grossing app chart, which he called "a measure of revenue generation." Bhatia also pointed out that there is a high level of short interest, or bearish bets, in King's stock, "which can sometimes cause higher-than-normal volatility in a stock." The shares, which are at the highest level seen since Aug. 11, are now up 36% since closing at a record low of $11.25 on Nov. 14.