$EXPR bulls quadruple money intraday

Express (EXPR) spiked today ahead of its earnings report due later this week, turning quick profits on upside option positions opened only this morning.

This morning, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service found that 3,000 Weekly $3 calls expiring this Friday, Mar. 12, were bought for $0.15 to $0.40 with shares at $2.53. This was clearly fresh buying, as open interest in the strike before the activity appeared was just 1,720.

Those calls have traded for as much as $1.60 today, at least 4 times their purchase prices. The stock rallied 66.4% in the same time period, a large 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.

EXPR hit an intraday high of $4.35 this afternoon and closed at $4.03, up 64.49% on the session. The apparel retailer is scheduled to report earnings on Wednesday morning (Mar. 10) before the opening bell.