$NFLX call prices quintuple

Bullish option positions opened in Netflix (NFLX) only two sessions ago turned large profits today.

On Feb. 3, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service found that 5,500 Weekly $360 calls expiring this Friday were bought for $1.95 to $4.05 with shares at $355.29. This was clearly fresh buying, as open interest in the strike was 2,415 contracts before the activity appeared.

Those calls have traded for as much as $15.50 today, more than 5 times their average purchase price. The stock rose 5.3% in the same time frame, illustrating the kind 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.

NFLX opened above $375 today but pulled back to trade at $366.80 this morning, off 0.6% on the session so far. The stock initially gained after rival Disney (DIS) reported strong streaming numbers in its quarterly report yesterday afternoon.