$OXY bulls triple their money

Option traders are have major gains in Occidental Petroleum (OXY) even after shares pulled back from their best levels this week.

On Aug. 26, Market Rebellion’s market scanners found that 3,300 Weekly $44 calls expiring on Sept. 27 were bought for $0.66 to to $0.68 with above open interest of 104 contracts. Follows September 44 call buying on Log earlier this session. Stock 42.08.

Those calls are marked at $2.03 today, more than 3 times their average purchase price. The stock rose 0.87% in the same time period, underscoring how options can far outperform their underlying shares.

It is the third winning trade in the name posted on Market Rebellion since Monday.

Long calls lock in the price where investors can buy a stock, letting them position for a rally at limited cost with the potential for significant leverage. They carry less risk than owning shares because the most that can be lost is the price of the options no matter how far the stock might fall.

OXY is up 0.12% to $45.85 this morning. The oil and gas producer rallied up to $48.85 with the rest of the energy sector after last weekend’s drone attacks on a major Saudi Aramco oil facility.