optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker tracking program detected the purchase of about 50,000 January 2014 5 calls for $0.33 to $0.36 against open interest of 38,664 contracts. It accounted for more than half the volume in the mobile stock so far today.

The investor is now positioned to make money if NOK climbs over the next 18 months. He or she may prefer using options over regular shares because they can generate significant leverage and reduce the amount of capital needed to profit from a rebound.

For instance, those calls have a delta of 0.28. If NOK climbs $1, or about 50 percent, those calls will almost double in value. If the stock doubles to $4, they could more than quadruple in value. (See our Education section)

NOK is up 6.25 percent to $1.96 in afternoon trading. The once-mighty cell-phone maker is down more than 90 percent since late 2007 as it struggles to find relevance in a world dominated by iPhones and Android devices. Earnings have been consistently poor, but some value investors may like its ample cash reserves and the fact it trades for less than book value.

Overall option volume in the stock is almost triple the daily average so far in the session, with calls outnumbering puts by 5 to 1.