Call buyers triple money in $AAPL

Option traders are continuing to score big profits on upside positions opened in Apple (AAPL).

On Nov. 17, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service found that 12,000 Weekly $157.50 calls, expiring Dec. 23, were bought for $1.86 to $3.10 above the existing open interest of 52 contracts with shares at $151.74.

Those calls traded for as much as $9.90 today, over 3 times their purchase prices. The stock rose 8.65% at the same time, underscoring how quickly options can far outperform their underlying shares.

This marks the third winning trade in the name to be posted on Market Rebellion in the past two weeks.

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.

AAPL was last up by 2.34% to $163.98 in afternoon trade.