Game on for $IGT calls

International Gaming Technology (IGT) is dealing a winning hand to upside option traders today.

On May 21, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service found that 8,000 June $20 calls were bought for $0.85 to $1.25 with shares at $18.84. This was clearly fresh buying, as open interest in the strike was just 2,107 contracts before the activity appeared.

Market Rebellion co-founder noted the activity that day on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.”

Those calls have sold for $4.60 today, at least 3.5 times their purchase prices. The stock rose 29.94% in the same time frame, an impressive gain but nowhere near that of its options.

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.

IGT was last up 1.92% to $24.40 today. The U.K.-based manufacturer of casino-gaming technologies price target was upgraded to $32 from $28 at Truist at Friday.