$RUN calls shine for bulls

Option traders have more than doubled their money on upside positions in Sunrun (RUN).

On April 10, Investitute’s tracking systems detected the purchase of 2,400 August $15 calls for $2.05 to $2.25 with shares at $15.47. This was clearly a fresh buying, as open interest in the strike was only 209 contracts before the activity appeared.

Those calls traded for as much as $5.20 this afternoon, more than twice their purchase prices. The stock rose 29.22% in the same time period, a large move but nowhere near that of its options on a relative basis.

Investitute co-founder Jon Najarian cited even more bullish activity in the name on CNBC’s “Halftime Report” today.

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.

RUN is up 5.01% to $19.70 this afternoon. Goldman Sachs upgraded the name along with other solar-energy companies on June 18, raising RUN to “buy” from “neutral” and lifting its price target to $20 from $15.