$FIS pays off again for bulls

Option traders have doubled their money on upside positions in Fidelity National Information Services for the second time in recent weeks.

On March 18, Investitute’s market scanners identified the purchase of 9,573 18April $110 calls in one print for $1.85 with shares at $107.19. Open interes in the strike was only 634 contracts before that session began, showing that this was a new position. Investitute co-founder Jon Najarian cited the unusual activity at that time on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.”

Those calls traded for as much as $3.90 this afternoon, more than twice their purchase price. The stock rose less than 6% in the same time period, illustrating the kind of leverage that can be achieved with options.

It is the second winning trade in the name posted on Investitute in about as many weeks.

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.

FIS rose 0.23% to close at $113.65 this afternoon. The financial-services firm, which announced plans to acquire electronic-payment company Worldpay for $35 billion in mid-March, was initiated with an “outperform” rating and $136 price target at Keefe Bruyette after the market closed today.