Big prints in weekly call options on Dow Chemical (Ticker: DOW) right around midday pushed the stock onto our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner today, with sizable volume building in the 23May’14 49.5 and 50.5 strike contracts. Shares in Dow Chemical are in positive territory today amid an up-day for U.S. equities, with the stock trading 0.90% higher at $49.42 as of 2:30 p.m. ET. Perhaps buyers of the short-term bullish options are positioning for shares in the name to move higher later in the week as the company’s Executive Vice President, Howard Ungerleider, is scheduled to discuss Dow’s long-term strategic growth plans at the Goldman Sachs Basic Materials Conference.
The 23May’14 50.5 strike calls are the most traded contracts by volume, with upwards of 13,000 calls in play against open interest of just 40 contracts. The bulk of the volume traded in a single print of 9,677 calls, which appears to have been purchased at a premium of $0.12 per contract, according to time and sales data. The position makes money at expiration this week in the event that DOW shares rally 2.4% over the current level to exceed the effective breakeven price of $50.62. Shares in Dow Chemical last traded above $50.62 on May 14th.
The at-the-money 23May’14 49.5 strike calls attracted substantial volume near midday as well, with around 6,800 of those contracts traded against open interest of 247 positions. The single-largest print in the 49.5 calls was a block of 2,500 contracts traded at a premium of $0.46 each. Most of the overall volume in the 49.5 strike calls looks to have been purchased in early afternoon trading. Call buyers stand ready to profit at expiration this week should shares in Dow Chemical continue to climb ahead of Memorial Day weekend.
