Bulls Look to Ring in New Year With Joy Global

By David Russell, reporter at OptionMonster

NEW YOTK -- Coal stocks have been hot, and now the bulls are looking to mining-equipment maker Joy Global (JOY).

OptionMonster's tracking systems detected the purchase of 3,000 January 60 calls for $2.32 and the sale of an equal-sized block of January 62.50s for $1.46. Volume was more than twice the open interest at each strike, indicating that these are new positions.

Owning calls confers the right to buy a stock at a certain level, while selling them obligates the trader to unload shares if they reach the strike price. In the case of Wednesday's trade, the investor can buy the stock for $60 and then sell it for $62.50, translating into a spread of $2.50.

He or she paid 86 cents for that right and will realize a profit of 190% if the shares close at $62.50 or higher on expiration. That's just 10% above Wednesday's closing price, which shows the kind of leverage that can be achieved with options.

Joy Global rose 1.91% to $56.63 and has been slowly working its way higher since the summer. Based on Wednesday's activity in the January options, traders are looking for the gains to accelerate into the new year.

Total option volume was triple the daily average in the session, with calls dominating the action.

Russell has no positions in JOY.

This commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet guest contributor program. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of TheStreet or its management.