Option bears score intraday in $PYPL

Option traders have scored on downside positions opened in PayPal (PYPL) just this morning.

Fewer than 10 minutes into this session, on Feb. 2, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity tracking systems detected the purchase of 2,700 Weekly $130 puts, expiring this Friday, for $1.68 to $2.88 with shares at $135.65. Volume was well above the strike’s previous open interest of 976 contracts, showing that this was fresh interest.

Those puts have traded up to $5.91 today, over double their purchase prices. The stock declined 4.81% in the same time period, a large move but nowhere near that of its options on a relative basis.

Long puts lock in the price where a stock can be sold no matter how far it might drop, gaining value in a selloff with the potential for significant leverage. The contracts can be purchased either as an outright bearish bet or a hedge on a long-stock position.

PYPL was last lower by 26.34% at $129.50.