$CTL bulls triple their money

Traders posted gains in CenturyLink options before they expired today.

On April 17, Investitute’s market scanners found that 2,200 Weekly $18 calls expiring this afternoon were purchased for $0.50 to $0.59 with shares at $17.66. These were clearly new positions, as open interest in the strike was only 612 contracts before the trades occurred. Stock 17.66. EPS 5/9 after close.

Those calls ended today at $1.90, more than 3 times their purchase prices. The stock rose 11% in the same time period, 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.

CTL was up 1.03% to $19.60 today. The communications company’s first-quarter earnings blew past estimates after the market closed Wednesday.