$SPXU call prices double overnight

Bearish option traders are making quick profits on upside positions opened in the ProShares UltraPro Short S&P500 ($SPXU) yesterday afternoon.

On Jun. 7, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service found that 42,000 July $17 calls were bought for $0.57 to $0.63 above open interest of just 8,315 contracts with shares at $17.40.

Those calls traded for as much as $1.30 thus far today, over 2 times their purchase prices. The stock rose 4.83% at the same time, underscoring how quickly options can far outperform their underlying shares.

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.

SPXU was last up by 3.19% to $17.96. The leveraged inverse ETF  appreciates at 3x the speed of the S&P 500’s decline.