Options News
Bulls triple their money in $WLL
Traders scored big on bullish options in Whiting Petroleum just before the positions expired today. On March 15, Investitute’s market scanners found that 3,100 Weekly $31.50 calls expiring this afternoon were purchased for $0.73 to $0.80 with shares at $31.36. These were clearly new positions, as open interest in the strike was a mere 54 […]
Traders scored big on bullish options in Whiting Petroleum just before the positions expired today.
On March 15, Investitute’s market scanners found that 3,100 Weekly $31.50 calls expiring this afternoon were purchased for $0.73 to $0.80 with shares at $31.36. These were clearly new positions, as open interest in the strike was a mere 54 contracts before the activity appeared.
Those calls traded for $2.65 today, more than 3.5 times their original purchase price. The stock rose 8.9% in the same time frame, 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.
WLL was up 1.08% today to close at $33.62. The oil and gas producer has rallied along with other energy names as the price of crude has risen in recently.