Call prices rise 8-fold in $AAPL

Option traders are scoring big profits on upside positions opened in Apple (AAPL).

On Mar. 18, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service found that 55,000 Weekly $165 calls, expiring today, Mar. 25, were bought for $0.64 to $1.17 with shares at $162.67. This was clearly fresh buying, as open interest in the strike was just 25,994 contracts before the activity appeared.

Those calls traded for as much as $10.29 today, at least 8.5 times their purchase prices. The stock rose 7.74% 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 was last lower on the day by 0.43% to $173.32.