Volatility Up at Dow Chemical as Investors Feast on Options

Today’s tickers: DOW, XLF, FMCN, MAR, CAT, S & MOT DOW  - The manufacturer of chemicals, plastic materials, and other specialized products jumped onto our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner this afternoon amid a more than 7% rally in shares to $25.30. Option traders displayed bullish tendencies as investors exchanged nearly two call options to each put traded on the stock. The near-term September contract had traders buying up both calls and puts. Bullish call buying occurred at the now in-the-money September 25 strike where more than 6,100 calls were picked up for an average premium of 33 cents each. More optimistic individuals purchased some 1,100 calls at the higher September 26 strike for 27 cents premium. Investors also locked in gains by buying 4,300 puts at the September 24 strike for 25 cents each. An additional chunk of 5,600 puts were scooped up at the higher September 25 strike for 56 cents apiece. Investors purchasing the puts probably hold long positions in the underlying stock. Finally, the October 26 strike was also targeted by bullish traders who bought about 2,000 calls for 85 cents per contract. The intraday shift in option implied volatility on DOW suggests investors are anticipating greater fluctuation in the price of the underlying shares. Volatility increased 12% during the session, rising up to a high of 51.5% from an intraday low of 46%. – The Dow Chemical Co. – XLF  - A large-volume bearish reversal caught our eye on the financials exchange-traded fund as shares of the underlying spent the better part of the trading session in the red. However, the XLF has recovered this afternoon to stand more than 0.5% higher at $14.63. The massive options reversal enacted in the October contract suggests at least one trader does not expect to see the fund climb much higher over the next five weeks. The transaction involved the sale of 35,000 calls at the October 15 strike for 39 cents apiece spread against the purchase of 35,000 puts at the lower October 14 strike for 49 cents per contract. The net cost of getting long the puts amounts to just 10 pennies each. It is likely the investor responsible for the spread holds a long position in the underlying stock. If this is indeed the case, he has established downside protection that would kick in if shares of the XLF fell beneath the breakeven point at $13.90…