$FCX calls double in hours

Bullish option traders didn’t have to wait long to post profits in Freeport-McMoRan today.

About 90 minutes into the session, Investitute’s market scanners flagged the purchase of 4,100 September $13.50 calls for $0.18 to $0.26 with shares at $13.14. Volume was well above the strike’s open interest of 2,898 contracts, indicating that this was fresh buying. Investitute co-founder Jon Najarian cited the unusual activity on CNBC’s “Halftime Report” shortly after.

Those calls rose to $0.51 and quadrupled in volume less than two hours later, doubling in price. The stock rose 4.72% in the same time, showing how quickly options can far outpace 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.

FCX jumped 4.52% to close at $13.63 this afternoon. The mining and energy company bounced with a weaker dollar today after hitting a 52-week low of $12.18 yesterday.