Celanese Corp (NYSE:CE) stock is up 5.4% to trade at $44.65 at last glance, after the chemicals company was upgraded by Citigroup to "buy" from "neutral," to go with a price-target hike to $53 from $47. The analyst in coverage said Celanese is set to benefit from China's curbed coal production, auto builds improvements, and potential balance sheet support from divestitures.
CE is pacing for its fifth-straight gain as it tests a slew of moving averages overhead, an area that roughly coincides with $50. The shares are trying to build some separation from their April 9 13-year low of $36.29, but remain 35.7% lower year-over-year.
Shorts have been building their positions, with short interest up 12.2% in the last two reporting periods to make up 6.9% of the stock's available float. Should this momentum keep up, an exodus of short sellers could keep the wind at the equity's back.
The security is seeing attractively priced premiums, per its Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 54% that sits in the low 24th percentile of its annual range, meaning options traders are pricing in low volatility expectations. It's also worth noting that CE's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 98 out of 100 means it has tended to outperform volatility estimates over the past year.
