$INTC bulls triple their money

Intel yielded large gains on upside option positions today.

On Feb. 20, Investitute’s tracking systems detected the purchase of 20,000 April $50 calls in one print for $0.73 with shares at $46.46. This was clearly a new position, as volume was well above the strike’s open interest of 16,884 contracts.

Those calls sold for $2.32 this morning, more than 3 times their purchase price. The stock rose 10.2% in the same time period, showing the type of leverage that can be achieved with options.

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.

INTC climbed to $51.23 early today before declining with the broader market to close at $50.83, down 0.66% on the session. Even though the chip manufacturer finished lower, it well outperformed most other large semiconductor companies.