$FB call prices surge overnight

It took less than 24 hours for bullish option traders to quadruple their money in Facebook (FB).

Just yesterday, Investitute’s market systems found that 12,000 Weekly $200 calls expiring on June 28 were bought for $0.37 to $0.81 with shares at $187.59. This was clearly fresh buying, as open interest in the strike was 2,717 contracts before the activity appeared.

Those calls traded for as much as $2.62 this morning, about 4.5 times their average purchase price. The stock rose 3.46% at the same time, showing 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.

FB spiked to $194.53 right after the opening bell but has pulled back to $190.93 in late-morning trading, still up 1.02% on the session. The company confirmed reports that it will unveil its own cryptocurrency next year, Libra, along with its block-chain based network to support it.