Shares in the social media company, which reports its earnings on July 29, are up 20% for 2015.

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Investors in social media shares have zeroed-in on Facebook FB 0.27% piling into stock options to add bullish bets on the company in the days ahead of its Wednesday earnings.
Facebook escaped a rout in social media stocks after last quarter’s results and its shares are up about 20% this year. The stock and a handful of other winners account for the bulk of the S&P 500’s SPX 0.43% gains this year.
The ascent has made Facebook one of the ten largest S&P companies in terms of market capitalization, with the stock now worth more than $260 billion – surpassing decades-old companies like Wal-Mart WMT 0.1% and Procter & Gamble PG 0.49% .
Traders in the options market are betting on more gains for the stock after it reports results Wednesday.
“Facebook is definitely the standout leader in the group,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital.
“The stock’s recent performance, combined with the company’s leading position, explains the bullishness of the options activity,” he said.
Earnings seasons are typically choppy for stocks and even more so for social media companies, due to their high valuations and ongoing concern, in some cases, about their business models.
Last quarter, investors spooked by disappointing results sent shares of Twitter TWTR -13.33% , LinkedIn LNKD -1.14% and Yelp YELP -28.2% down by more than 20% the week they reported results.
“These stocks are some of the most expensive stocks in the market,” said Stephen Massocca, managing director with Wedbush Equity Management in San Francisco.
“If numbers are disappointing and either growth or profitability looks out of reach, it’s very easy to see why investors would get out in a hurry,” he said.