$LVS calls up 4-fold overnight

Option traders are already logging huge profits on bullish positions opened in Las Vegas Sands (LVS) only one session earlier.

Just yesterday, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service detected the purchase of 3,100 December $69 calls for $0.16 to $0.27 with shares at $68.06. This was clearly fresh buying, as open interest in the strike was only 585 contracts before the activity appeared.

Those calls have traded for as much as $1.03 so far today, more than 4.5 times their average purchase price. The stock rose 2.37% in the same time frame, illustrating the kind of leverage that can be achieved quickly with options.

Long calls lock in the price where a stock can be purchased, gaining with a rally and providing leverage to the underlying shares. The contracts can quickly lose value if the stock stalls or pulls back but also carry less risk than owning the shares themselves.

LVS is up 0.91% to $68.83 this morning. The company has rallied sharply along with other casino operators since China announced plans to make gambling capital Macau a major financial center.