Call buyers cash in $SEAS gains

Bulls tripled their money in SeaWorld Entertainment today thanks to strong quarterly results.

On July 25, Investitute’s market scanners identified the purchase of 4,000 August $22 calls in one print for $1.45 with shares at $22.18. This was clearly a new position, as open interest in the strike was only 1,784 contracts before the trade occurred.

Those calls sold for $4.10 this afternoon, nearly 3 times their purchase price. The stock rose 17.63% in the same time frame, underscoring how options can far outperform 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.

SEAS was up 3.6% to close $25.58 at today after reaching a 52-week high of $26.26 earlier in the session. The amusement-park operator topped revenue expectations with higher attendance numbers yesterday.