(Bloomberg) -- Traders are buying options betting that Donald Trump’s media company — which soared as much as 50% early Monday — has further room to gain.
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. shares are trading 26% higher at $39 as of 11:56 a.m. New York time on speculation that the failed assassination attempt on the former president over the weekend would boost his chances of winning the White House.
Implied volatility for options expiring Friday surged to more than 200% on an annualized basis, with calls rising more than puts, highlighting the demand for bullish contracts. Total options volume was already more than double the 20-day average, with call trading at the highest since June 24.
Most trading was in short-term contracts, with $50 and $80 calls expiring Friday trading more than 15,000 times each. The average trade in the $50 call was just three contracts, signaling retail investor interest.
The biggest single-block trade was about 3,000 contracts of $60 calls expiring Jan. 17, which traded at the offer for a total $2.7 million premium, just after the open.
The former president owns a majority stake in Trump Media, which operates the social media platform Truth Social that was launched after Trump’s ban from major sites following the 2021 Capitol riot.
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