Federal prosecutors examining Apple Computer are scrutinizing stock options documents that appear to be falsified for maximum profit to executives, according to a report.

Shares of Apple declined as much as 6 percent in early Wednesday morning trading after the news but recovered. By afternoon trading shares had gained $0.8 to $81.59.

A report in the legal newspaper The Recorder had cited individuals familiar with the case who wished to remain anonymous. The report said that CEO Steve Jobs has hired a personal attorney outside of the company’s counsel to deal with the Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Cupertino, California, computer maker faces a deadline for filing its annual report this week. On December 15, Apple said it would delay filing its annual report for 15 days while it reviews the findings of its stock options probe as well as recent guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (see Apple Delays Annual Report).

Apple first acknowledged its options problem in June, pointing out that there were irregularities in grants for Mr. Jobs and others (see Apple Has an Option Problem). The Mac maker in October divulged that it found stock options grant irregularities and that Mr. Jobs knew of the activities. At that time, former Apple CFO Fred Anderson resigned from the board.

Apple has found irregularities in a grant from January 2002. The company also has been examining stock option grants made on 15 dates between 1997 and 2002 that appeared to have grant dates that predated the approval of those grants (see Apple CEO Jobs: ‘I Apologize’).

Options probes have rocked technology companies across Silicon Valley. The tremors have hit executives at CNET, including founder and CEO Shelby Bonnie, McAfee, and numerous others (see Who’s Left at CNET?). In all, there are more than 160 companies that are either under federal investigation or have launched internal investigations of their stock options granting practices.

Analysts have shown concern over the Apple options probe and potential the investigation could lead to the departure of Mr. Jobs, who has fueled the company’s success with iPods and innovative products. However, Apple has said that options grants issued to Mr. Jobs were canceled, resulting in no financial gain for the executive.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster issued a report in October that reviewed Apple’s options grants. Mr. Munster’s report said that of the 15 grants under investigation, seven priced on the lower end. In particular, one was at the low for the 40-day trading range. He also found that three were within 5 percent of the low for that trading range, and three were within 10 percent of the low for the fiscal year (see Apple’s Jobs Clear on Options?). In that report, Mr. Munster noted that he believes Mr. Jobs is in the clear on the options investigation because he was not aware of the accounting treatment and did not benefit.