DuPont up on Lyondell's buyout

E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) opened at $52.33. So far today the stock has hit a low of $52.30 and a high of $53.22. As of 11:15, DD is trading at $52.88, up $0.88 (1.7%).

The stock has been mostly flat over the past six months, hitting a one-year high of $53.90 earlier this month. Basell Holdings (NYSE: BF) announced today that the company will purchase Lyondell Chemical (NYSE: LYO) for $12.66 billion, sending competitors' shares up in the wake of the deal. Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) and DuPont are each getting a nice lift following the news. Technical indicators for DD are bullish but deteriorating slightly, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an October bull-put credit spread below the $47.50 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk and leverage returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 8.7% return in just 3 months as long as DD is above $47.50 at October expiration. DD would have to fall by more than 10% before we would start to lose money.

DD hasn't been below $47.50 since December and has shown support around $51 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out July 24) disappoint or if the cost of the company's raw materials increases greatly. However, even if these things happen, it looks like this position could be protected by the strong support the stock found between $49 and $50, plus its 200 day moving average, which is currently at $49 and rising.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in DD, DOW, LYO, or BF.