$BMRN calls double at lunchtime

Option traders doubled their money in BioMarin Pharmaceutical yesterday less than two hours after opening bullish positions in the name.

Just after noon ET, Investitute’s tracking systems identified the purchase of 3,418 February $120 in one print for $0.65 with shares at $95.62. There was no open interest in the strike before the trade occurred, showing that this was a new position.

Those calls rose to $1.30 barely 90 minutes later, twice their purchase price. The stock rose just 0.36% at the same time, underscoring 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.

BMRN was up 2.35% to close at $94.51 yesterday. The biotechnology company has been trading in an increasingly narrow range since reporting quarterly results in late October.