$BMY call prices quintuple

Bullish option traders are logging exponential gains in Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) today for the third time in the last month.

On Nov. 27, our Unusual Activity Service found that 2,700 Weekly $60 calls expiring on Jan. 10 were bought for $0.70 to $0.75 with no open interest and shares at $57.77. Market Rebellion co-founder Pete Najarian chose BMY for his “final trade” at the end of CNBC’s “Halftime Report” on Dec. 27.

Those calls are marked at $3.93 today, more than 5 times their purchase prices. The stock rose 10.7% in the same time period, underscoring how options can far outperform their underlying shares.

It is the third winning trade in the name posted on Market Rebellion since Dec. 5.

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.

BMY is up 1.56% to $63.96 this morning. Citigroup upgraded the drug maker to “buy” from “neutral” yesterday and raised its price target to $73 from $57.