$XENT bulls score

Option traders are seeing big gains on upside option positions today in Intersect ENT (XENT).

On Jul. 8, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity programs detected the the purchase 3,000 August $20 calls for $1.20 to $1.82 with shares at $18.91. Open interest in the contract before the trade occurred was just 30, showing that this was a new position.

Those calls  traded for as much as $7.70 this session, at least 4 times their purchase prices. The stock gained 46.75% at the same time, a large move but nowhere near that of its options on a relative basis.

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.

XENT was last higher on the day by 11.77% at $27.40. The healthcare equipment company is to be acquired by Medtronic (MDT) for $28.25 per share.