(Bloomberg) — Traders bought a slew of bullish contracts on video-game retailer GameStop Corp. over the past two days, less than a month after an X post from Keith Gill, the online persona known as Roaring Kitty, sent meme stocks flying.

Most Read from Bloomberg

From late Monday through Tuesday, more than 100,000 $125 calls expiring Jan. 17 changed hands. Shares have risen almost 12% this week, closing at $31.26 on Tuesday. But they would have to roughly quadruple over the next month for the options to be in the money. Of course, a steep rally would also be enough to boost the value of the options, bought at an average of about $0.795 each.

Call volume rose Tuesday to the highest since Dec. 5, when Gill posted a mock-up of a Time magazine cover, featuring a blank computer screen with a media player that resembles YouTube. Speculation on the meaning of the post also boosted shares of Unity Software Inc. and Clear Secure Inc. that day.

Open interest in the $125 call contract rose by almost 50,000 lots Monday, signaling that the options buying added to positions.

While implied volatility on the far-off January calls rose Monday afternoon and early Tuesday, it retreated Tuesday afternoon. That signaled possible selling by traders willing to risk a rally and collect premium for the low probability of the options ending in the money. Even as shares rose Tuesday, the value of the option fell by 22 cents.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.