Shares in German sportswear maker Puma AG continued to soar in late afternoon trading in Frankfurt even after Italian clothing giant Benetton had denied market talk it was interested in acquiring the German group. Analysts said talk that Italian fashion group Benetton might be considering snapping up the southern German group was the only reason for the sharp price jump. Puma posted slightly disappointing results on Friday, prompting several banks to downgrade their recommendations. Benetton, however, said it was not interested.