$LLY bulls quadruple their money

It took just one week for option traders to run up exponential gains in Eli Lilly.

On March 19, Investitute’s tracking systems detected the purchase of 2,500 18April $133 calls for $0.52 with shares at $126.52. There was no open interest in the strike before the trade appeared, showing that it was a new position.

Those calls traded for as much as $2.17 today, more than 4 times their purchase price. The stock rose 4.43% in the same time frame, illustrating the kind of leverage that can be achieved quickly 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.

LLY was up 0.89% to $131.02. UBS resumed coverage of the drug maker on March 19 with a “buy” rating and raised its price target to $140 from $131, saying the stock does not fully reflect the company’s strength and growth.