The bulls were banking on Regions Financial yesterday with the stock near its 52-week highs.
OptionMonster's tracking systems showed early buying in the March 8 calls for $0.12 and $0.13. More than 6,650 contracts traded in the session, nearly twice the previous open interest of 3,583 at the strike. That indicates that new money was put to work on the long side.
Those traders now have the right to buy shares for $8 in the next two months, no matter how high they may go. That will result in some nice leverage in the event of a continued rally, but the calls will expire worthless if the stock doesn't move.