Bulls mining quick gains in $FCX

Option traders are mining for quick gains in upside positions in Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) today.

Just yesterday, ahead of the closing bell, on Jan. 5, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Scanners showed that 4,000 Weekly $29 calls, expiring this Friday, were bought as part of a bullish spread, for $0.40 above open interest of 599 contracts with shares of $28.36.

Those calls traded for up to $1.56 today, nearly 4 times their purchase price. The stock rose 7.4% in the same time frame, underscoring how options can far outperform their underlying shares.

This marks the second winning trade in the name in the past two sessions.

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.

FCX was up 6.38% to close at $30.16. The mining company hit a new 52-Week high this session of $30.51.