$HAL calls produce a barrel of gains

Bullish option traders are turning a barrel of gains in short-term positions on Halliburton (HAL) today.

On Mar. 25, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service found that 2,000 Weekly $39.50 calls, expiring Apr. 5, were bought for $0.54 to $0.57 with shares at $39.09. This was clearly fresh buying, as open interest in the strike was just 220 contracts before the activity appeared.

Those calls have sold for as much as $1.35 today, a 136.84% return, while the stock rose 4.35% in the same time period, underscoring how 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 was last at $40.81, up 2.26% on the day.