Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT).
And retail traders should know.
We noticed this today when the big position showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.
Whether this is an institution or just a wealthy individual, we don't know. But when something this big happens with AMAT, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
So how do we know what this whale just did?
Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 23 uncommon options trades for Applied Materials.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 34% bullish and 65%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 8 are puts, for a total amount of $358,450, and 15 are calls, for a total amount of $840,462.
What's The Price Target?
Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $90.0 to $220.0 for Applied Materials over the last 3 months.
Volume & Open Interest Development
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Applied Materials options trades today is 1179.93 with a total volume of 4,014.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Applied Materials's big money trades within a strike price range of $90.0 to $220.0 over the last 30 days.
Applied Materials Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days
Biggest Options Spotted:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMAT | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 06/17/22 | $145.00 | $157.7K | 643 | 717 |
| AMAT | PUT | TRADE | BULLISH | 03/18/22 | $160.00 | $114.7K | 595 | 30 |
| AMAT | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/20/23 | $220.00 | $112.5K | 93 | 500 |
| AMAT | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 06/17/22 | $145.00 | $102.0K | 643 | 320 |
| AMAT | CALL | SWEEP | NEUTRAL | 01/19/24 | $140.00 | $59.6K | 415 | 0 |
Where Is Applied Materials Standing Right Now?
- With a volume of 2,791,890, the price of AMAT is down -3.1% at $121.84.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching oversold.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 73 days.
What The Experts Say On Applied Materials:
- B. Riley Securities has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Applied Materials, which currently sits at a price target of $175.
- Needham has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Applied Materials, which currently sits at a price target of $172.
- UBS has decided to maintain their Neutral rating on Applied Materials, which currently sits at a price target of $160.
- Piper Sandler has decided to maintain their Neutral rating on Applied Materials, which currently sits at a price target of $153.
Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.
If you are already an options trader or would like to get started, head on over to Benzinga Pro. Benzinga Pro gives you up-to-date news and analytics to empower your investing and trading strategy.
