Friday, August 23, 2013

Options Trade - Dow Chemical (DOW)



I originally bought 100 shares of DOW back on June 14th for 33.93/share mentioned in a post here.
While DOW isn't really a "core" holding of mine, I am still bullish on their earnings especially due to cheap natural gas inputs.  I'll also be using this trade as an example in my next article: Introduction to Options Trading - Part 2 (Calls).

Since June 14th, DOW has increased in price to $37.35/share.  I could just go ahead and sell 100 shares for a profit of $342 taxed as a short-term capital gain.  This is a 9% profit in only 2 months!

Instead of just selling I decided to sell a covered call.  Here's the trade:

I sold 1 Dec. 21 '13 $35 Call @ 3.25.  I collected $325 in premiums.

This trade could turn out a few ways:

1) I hold shares until expiration and shares are trading below $35.00.  I will get to keep the $325 in options premiums.

2) DOW is trading above $35.00 at or before expiration and shares are called away.  I will sell 100 shares of DOW at a price of $35.00/share.  My profit not counting commissions in this scenario is the sales price ($35) minus my cost basis ($33.93) plus premiums ($325).  This is $432 or a 12.7% profit in only 6 months!

3) Shares of DOW drop substantially and I decide to buy back the call early for a profit less than $325.

I currently have 15 open options positions and a total options profit of $3486 for 2013.  My options page has been updated accordingly.

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