Bulls turn quick profits in $DAL

Option traders posted substantial gains today on upside positions opened in Delta Air Lines only one session earlier.

Just yesterday, Investitute’s tracking systems detected the purchase of 13,100 November $52.50 calls for $1 to $1.17 with shares at $50.18. These were clearly new positions, as open interest in the strike was only 1,274 contracts before the activity appeared.

Those calls traded for $2.08 this morning, more than twice their initial purchase price. The stock rose 4.35% at the same time, illustrating the kind of leverage that can be achieved with options.

Long calls lock in the price where a stock can be purchased, gaining with a rally and providing leverage to the underlying shares. The contracts can quickly lose value if the stock stalls or pulls back but also carry less risk than owning the shares themselves.

DAL was up 3.56% to $51.48 today. The carrier beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates this morning.