How $X calls skyrocketed 16-fold

Bullish option traders racked up stratospheric gains on U.S. Steel today.

On Feb. 6, Investitute’s tracking systems detected the purchase of 5,400 March $40 calls for $0.50 to $0.69 with shares at $35.47. Volume was far above the strike’s open interest of 2,127 contracts, indicating that this was fresh buying.

Those calls traded for $7.90 today, about 16 times their original purchase price. The stock rose 34.3% in the same time period, a large move but nowhere near that of its options.

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.

X jumped 5.75% today to close at $46.01. The company rallied after President Trump said the federal government would impose 25% tariffs on imports in anti-dumping efforts.