$VMC bulls double money in a day

Option traders are collecting big profits today on bullish positions opened in Vulcan Materials less than 24 hours earlier.

Just yesterday, Investitute’s market scanners identified the purchase of 2,000 December $110 calls for $2.33 as part of a bullish roll with shares at $103.82. This was clearly a new position, as open interest in the strike was a mere 21 contracts before the activity appeared.

Those calls sold for as much as $5.20 early this morning, more than twice their purchase price. The stock rose 5.97% at the same time, illustrating the kind of leverage that can be achieved quickly with options.

That follows heavy buying in the November $95 calls updated by Investitute on Oct. 30, which have soared tenfold to $15.25 from $1.50.

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.

VMC jumped 4.88% to $109.20 today. This morning Jefferies said the concrete and asphalt producer was among the materials companies that would benefit from government infrastructure spending.