$BA calls triple in hours

Option traders who opened bullish positions in Boeing (BA) this morning were racking up large gains by the afternoon.

Less than 5 minutes after the opening bell, Market Rebellion’s proprietary programs found that 3,300 Weekly $360 calls expiring this Friday were bought for $0.93 to $1.38 with shares at $354.80. Volume was well above the strike’s existing open interest of 2,065 contracts, indicating that this was fresh buying.

Those calls ballooned above 13,400 in volume and have traded for as much as $3.75 so far today, more than 3 times their average purchase price. The stock rose 1.85% at the same time, showing how quickly options can far outpace gains in their underlying shares.

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.

BA us yo 2.77% to $360.80 this afternoon. Shares rose after the aerospace giant’s chairman expressed confidence in the company’s embattled CEO.