Shares in McDonald’s are up the most in the Dow Jones Industrial Average today, rising nearly 4.0% to $98.92 and the highest level since November 26th during the first hour of the session. The rally in shares of the world’s largest restaurant chain today is more than making up for yesterday’s dip in the price of the underlying on the heels of a larger than expected dip in February same store sales. Options traders hungry for continued gains in the stock in the very near term appear to be snapping up weekly options across several striking prices today.
The most traded weekly options by volume are the 14 Mar ’14 $97 strike contracts, with around 3,000 in-the-money calls in play against open interest of 744 positions. Time and sales data suggests most of the volume was purchased for an average premium of $0.42 each. Call buyers stand ready to profit at expiration this week in the event that MCD shares exceed an average breakeven price of $97.42. Shares are currently well above that level and the $97 strike calls are now trading at $1.72 each as of 11:40 a.m. EDT, which is roughly four times the average asking premium paid earlier in the session.
