Patient bears score in $GIS

Option traders who opened upside positions in General Mills (GIS) last month are now harvesting big rewards.

On Jul. 18, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service found that 2,200 August $75 puts were bought for $1.27 to $1.60 above the existing open interest of 1,763 contracts with shares at $74.81.

Those puts have traded for as much as $4.80 this session, a 200% return, while the stock fell 6.12% in the same time frame, illustrating the kind of leverage that can be achieved quickly with options.

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.

GIS was last up 0.028% at $70.31.