Call prices quadruple in $WLL

Bullish options in Whiting Petroleum yielded huge gains before expiring this afternoon.

On April 6, Investitute’s tracking systems showed that 1,800 Weekly $32 calls expiring this afternoon were purchased for $3.58 to $3.78 as part of a bullish roll with shares at $34.57. This was a new position, as there was no open interest in the strike before that session began.

Those calls traded for $14.55 at today’s close, more than 4 times their purchase price. The stock rallied 34.5% in the same time period, a huge move but nowhere near that of its options on a relative basis.

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 slipped 1.5% today to close at $46.56, but the oil and natural-gas producer has ripped higher in recent weeks along with other energy names as the price of crude has hit multi-year highs.