$TWTR bulls double their money

Twitter was one of the rare bright spots in the market today, resulting in big gains for upside option positions.

On Feb. 20, Investitute’s tracking systems detected the purchase of 10,000 April $35 calls for $1.42 to $1.45 as part of a bullish roll with shares at $32.70. There was no open interest in the strike before the trade occurred, showing that this was a new position.

Today those calls traded as high as $3.17, more than double their purchase prices. The stock rose 12.5% 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.

TWTR jumped 7.3% today. The social media reportedly is planning new initiatives including a new subscription service to facilitate advertising and a camera feature that could compete directly with Snap.