Citigroup upgraded DOW to "buy" from "neutral"
Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) received a flurry of bull notes today, following yesterday's first-quarter earnings and revenue beat. Citigroup upgraded the chemical name to "buy" from "neutral," with a price-target hike to $82 from $70, noting the stock tends to outperform the broader market during times of high inflation. Five other analysts lifted their price objectives as well, though they noted supply chain issues.
DOW is up 1.2% to trade at $70.34, and on track for its 10th consecutive daily win. The stock yesterday flew to a record high of $71.86, before pulling back to close at $69.51. Year-to-date, DOW is up 25%.
There's still plenty of room for additional upgrades and/or price-target hikes going forward. Of the 24 analysts in coverage, 15 still call DOW a tepid "hold" or worse. What's more, the 12-month consensus price target of $70.63 is in line with current levels.
Looking at today's options activity, the May 73 call is the most popular by far, and also happens to be the top open interest position. Calls have been winning out in the options pits lately, with 2.61 calls bought for every put over the last 10 weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio stands higher than 81% of readings from the past year, indicating long calls have been getting picked up at a faster-than-usual rate.