$HAL calls nearly triple in a week

Bullish option traders turned big gains on short-term positions in Halliburton (HAL) today.

Last Friday, Apr. 3, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Option Activity Service identified the purchase of 4,000 Weekly $7 calls expiring today for $0.90 as part of a bullish roll with shares at $7.40. This represented fresh buying, as volume was well above the strike’s previous open interest of 346 contracts.

Those calls traded for as much as $2.60 this morning, nearly 3 times their purchase price. The stock rallied 29.19% in the same time frame, 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.

HAL rose to as high as $9.73 this morning but has since pulled back to $8.92, still up 2% for the session. The energy-services company has seen its shares rise amid volatility in the oil market as OPEC+ outlined a deal to cut output by 10 million barrels per day to support prices.