$JCI bulls triple money

Option traders are racking up fast profits today on upside positions opened in Johnson Controls (JCI) Monday afternoon

On Apr. 27, Market Rebellion’s proprietary programs found that 2,800 May $31 calls were bought for $0.27  to $0.31 with shares at $28.70. Open interest in the strike was only 110 contracts before the trades occurred, showing that these were new positions.

Those calls have thus far traded for as much as $1.15 today, at least 3.5 times their purchase prices. The stock gained 7.77% at the same time, a large move but still nowhere near that of its options on a relative basis.

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.

JCI was last up 4.2% at $30.98. The fire, HVAC and security conglomerate is expected to report earnings on Friday, May 1 before the market opens.