American Stock Exchange to Trade Options on Seven Securities NEW YORK, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) will launch trading in options on Friday, February 18, 2005 on the following American Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market and New York Stock Exchange listed stocks of: * Bucyrus International, Inc. (Stock Symbol: BUCY/Option Symbol: HBU) * Imergent, Inc. (Symbol: IIG) * Ionatron, Inc. (Stock Symbol: IOTN/Option Symbol: QVM) * Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (Stock Symbol: VIVO/Option Symbol: ZUG) * Nuvelo, Inc. (Stock Symbol: NUVO/Option Symbol: CDQ) * W&T Offshore, Inc. (Symbol: WTI) * WellChoice, Inc. (Symbol: WC) Bucyrus International, Inc. will open with strike prices of 35 - 40 - 45 and position limits of 2,250,000 shares. The options will trade on the January expiration cycle with initial expirations in March, April, July and October. The specialist will be LaBranche Structured Products, LLC. Bucyrus International, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets large excavation machinery used for surface mining. Imergent, Inc. will open with strike prices of 22-1/2 - 25 - 30 and position limits of 1,350,000 shares. The options will trade on the January expiration cycle with initial expirations in March, April. July and October. The specialist will be Bowery Specialist Group, LLC. Imergent, Inc. is a technology and training company delivering electronic services to small business and entrepreneurs. Ionatron, Inc. will open with strike prices of 7-1/2 - 10 - 12-1/2 and position limits of 3,150,000 shares. The options will trade on the January expiration cycle with initial expirations in March, April, July and October. The specialist will be Bowery Specialist Group, LLC. Ionatron, Inc. developed and tested a proprietary new directed energy weapon technology. Meridian Bioscience, Inc. will open with strike prices of 15 - 17-1/2 - 20 and position limits of 1,350,000 shares. The options will trade on the January expiration cycle with initial expirations in March, April, July and October. The specialist will be TANSTAAFL Research & Trading, LLC. Meridian Bioscience, Inc. manufactures, markets and distributes diagnostic test kits, purified reagents, and related products. Nuvelo, Inc. will open with strike prices of 5 - 7-1/2 - 10 and position limits of 2,250,000 shares. The options will trade on the January expiration cycle with initial expirations in March, April. July and October. The specialist will be Wolverine Trading, LP. Nuvelo, Inc. researches and develops novel biopharmaceutical products form its proprietary gens discovers using its screening-by-hybridization platform. W&T Offshore, Inc. will open with strike prices of 17-1/2 - 20 - 22-1/2 and position limits of 1,350,000 shares. The options will trade on the January expiration cycle with initial expirations in March, April. July and October. The specialist will be Kellogg Capital Group, LLC. W&T Offshore, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas company focused primarily on the Gulf of Mexico area in the United States. WellChoice, Inc. will open with strike prices of 50 - 55 - 60 and position limits of 2,250,000 shares. The options will trade on the January expiration cycle with initial expirations in March, April. July and October. The specialist will be AGS Specialists, LLC. WellChoice, Inc. provides health insurance to its member in New York and New Jersey. The American Stock Exchange(R) (Amex(R)) is the only primary exchange that offers trading across a full range of equities, options and exchange traded funds (ETFs), including structured products and HOLDRSSM. In addition to its role as a national equities market, the Amex is the pioneer of the ETF, responsible for bringing the first domestic product to market in 1993. Leading the industry in ETF listings, the Amex lists 145 ETFs to date. The Amex is also one of the largest options exchanges in the U.S., trading options on broad-based and sector indexes as well as domestic and foreign stocks. DATASOURCE: The American Stock Exchange CONTACT: Mary Chung, American Stock Exchange, +1-212-306-1641, Web site: http://www.amex.com/

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