$PFE call prices rocket sixfold

Option traders reaped exponential profits today on bullish positions opened in Pfizer just two weeks ago.

On Aug. 3, Investitute’s tracking systems detected the purchase of 4,700 August $41.50 calls for $0.08 to $0.14 with shares at $40.55. There was no open interest in the strike before the activity appeared, showing that this was fresh buying.

Those calls sold for $0.68 today, more than 6 times their average purchase price. The stock rose 4.02% 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.

PFE was up 1.62% to close at $42.09 today, just off a 52-week high of $42.19 reached earlier in the session. The pharmaceutical giant has been rallying since beating quarterly estimates at the end of July.