Time Warner Cable Stock Spikes on Continued Deal Spec

Time Warner Cable investors were in for a wild ride for a second straight day Friday, rising nearly 7% in early trading after reports surfaced that Charter Communications was gearing up to make a bid for cable giant before the end of the year.

Speculation over a Charter/Time Warner Cable deal first came to light in June. While anticipation over a deal waned somewhat in subsequent months, they reached a near-fever pitch on Oct. 31 after the nation's second largest MSO reported dismal third quarter results, losing 306,000 residential basic video customers.

Time Warner Cable shares rose as high as $128.17 each on Friday (up 6.7% or $8.02 per share) and beating its previous 52-week high of $124 each, before closing at $123.51 (up 2.8% or $3.36 each). Those gains were on top of the 3% rise in the stock's price on Oct. 31, after the poor earnings fueled speculation that a deal was imminent.

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