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• Long-term bullish bet on Consol Energy
• CenturyLink trader thinks gains will hold

• CE 0% Rate It

Option premiums have been falling in Celanese, but one investor sees that trend reversing.

Our tracking programs detected the purchase of 3,000 September 37.50 puts for $1.15 and 3,000 September 40 calls for $1.65. Volume exceeded open interest at both strikes, indicating that new positions were opened.

Known as a strangle , the trade cost $2.80 to open. It will profit from implied volatility increasing in the name, which in turn will drive up the value of the options . Implied volatility in the chemical manufacturer now stands around 35 percent, down from almost 50 percent in early June.

Owning both calls and puts lets the investor profit from the increase regardless of which way the shares move. (See our Education section for more on market-neutral strategies.)

CE rose 1.78 percent to $40.69 on Friday. It's up more than 20 percent in the last month but remains in the middle of its trading range of the last two years.

The strangle pushed total option volume to 9 times greater than average in the session.

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