$CENX bulls triple money

Option traders have scored exponential gains on upside positions opened in Century Aluminum (CENX) less than a week ago.

On Nov. 1, Market Rebellion’s tracking systems detected the purchase of 10,000 June $8 calls in one print for $0.60 with shares at $6.14. There was no open interest in the strike before the trade occurred, showing that this was a new position.

Those calls have traded for as much as $1.75 so far today, about 3 times their purchase price. The stock surged 36.3% in the same time frame, a large gain but nowhere near that of its options.

Long calls lock in the price where investors can buy a stock, letting them position for a rally at limited cost with the potential for significant leverage. They carry less risk than owning shares because the most that can be lost is the price of the options no matter how far the stock might fall.

CENX is up 15.32% to $8.13 in midday trading. The aluminum maker announced quarterly results yesterday afternoon.