$DAL call prices catch a lift

Bullish option positions opened just two sessions ago in Delta caught a big lift today as the price of oil fell.

On Tuesday morning, Investitute’s market scanners found that 3,300 Weekly $58 calls expiring on November 30 were bought from $0.33 to $0.40 with shares at $55.65. This was clearly a new position, as open interest in the strike was a mere 291 contracts before the activity appeared.

Those calls traded for as much as $0.76 this morning, double their average purchase price. The stock rose 6.64% at the same time, illustrating 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.

DAL flew 2.13% to close at $57.16 today, after reaching an intraday high of $57.69. The airliner’s shares have continued to climb as trouble abounds in its leading operating cost input, crude oil.