Calls Active On DSW

Options are more active than usual on footwear and accessories retailer DSW Inc. (Ticker: DSW) today with shares in the name up 3.5% on the day at $28.65 in the first hour of today’s shortened trading session. Upwards of 3,500 options contracts have changed hands on DSW as of the time of this writing, which is more than five times the average daily reading of around 615 contracts. The bulk of the activity is in October expiry calls perhaps as some option traders position for the price of the underlying to continue to rise. Shares in DSW are up roughly 20% since the end of May when the stock touched a 52-week low of $23.45. Despite the recent move to the upside, shares in the retailer are still down more than 30% since the start of 2014.
The most traded options contracts on DSW this morning are the Oct 30.0 strike calls, with around 2,600 contracts in play against open interest of 1,748 positions. Time and sales data suggests most of the volume was purchased at a premium of $1.30 each. Call buyers may profit at expiration in October if shares in DSW rally another 9.0% over the current price of $28.65 to exceed the breakeven price of $31.30. Shares in DSW last traded above $31.30 back on May 27th. The company is likely to report second-quarter earnings at the end of August.