Microsoft Stock in Dow Cellar After Outlook Cut

As the Dow continues its historic sell-off, one of the prime culprits this morning is Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), down 3.3%to trade at $164.64 this morning. The tech icon warned it expects its Windows units to miss their third quarter guidance due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

Today's drop has Microsoft stock breaching its 50-day moving average for the first time since late October. And despite its COVID-19 fueled sell-off the last few weeks, MSFT has held onto its year-to-date breakeven level. Longer term, the equity remains up 51% year-to-date. 

Call traders have ruled the roost. Data at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) shows MSFT with a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 2.99. Not only does this show that calls have outnumbered puts by a nearly three-to-one ratio, but the ratio sits higher than 84% of readings from the past year, indicating such a call skew is rare.

Put another way, the security's Schaeffer's open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.61 ranks in the 2nd percentile of its annual range. In other words, short-term options players have rarely been more call-heavy during the last 12 months.