Bulls score intraday in $DWDP

Option traders doubled their money on upside positions in DowDuPont during today’s sessions.

Less than an hour after today’s opening bell, Investitute’s tracking systems detected the purchase of  5,000 18April $39.50 calls for $0.08-$0.09 with shares at $38.78. This was clearly new positioning, as existing open interest in the strike was only 224 contracts.

Those calls traded for as much as $0.19 by the closing bell, more than twice their purchase prices. The stock rose just 0.85% at the same time, underscoring how quickly options can far outpace gains in their underlying shares on a relatively basis.

Long calls lock in the price where investors can buy a stock, letting them position for a rally at limited cost with the potential for significant leverage. They carry less risk than owning shares because the most that can be lost is the price of the options no matter how far the stock might fall.

DWDP was up 0.64% to $39.15 today. The chemical company’s shares are up sharply since rebounding from a key support level at the end of March.