Call prices double in $AAPL

Option traders are logging big profits on upside, Christmas Eve expiring, positions opened in Apple (AAPL) last week.

On Dec. 15, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service detected the purchase of 35,000 Weekly $130 calls, expiring today, for $0.94 to $1.39 with shares at $124.77. This was clearly fresh buying, as open interest in the strike was only 19,319 contracts before the activity appeared.

Those calls traded for as much as $3.46 today, at least twice their purchase prices. The stock rose 6.96% at the same time, underscoring how quickly 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.

AAPL closed up by 0.77% to $131.97 today. The iPhone maker announced on Monday after the close that it aims for 2024 to produce its own battery powered passenger car.