Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).
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 WFC, 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 87 uncommon options trades for Wells Fargo.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 42% bullish and 57%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 71 are puts, for a total amount of $3,603,105, and 16 are calls, for a total amount of $724,526.
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 $32.5 to $65.0 for Wells Fargo over the last 3 months.
Volume & Open Interest Development
Looking at the volume and open interest is a powerful move while trading options. This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Wells Fargo's options for a given strike price. Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Wells Fargo's whale trades within a strike price range from $32.5 to $65.0 in the last 30 days.
Wells Fargo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WFC | PUT | SWEEP | NEUTRAL | 01/19/24 | $42.50 | $150.4K | 17.7K | 1.5K |
| WFC | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 01/19/24 | $65.00 | $137.6K | 3.6K | 835 |
| WFC | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/19/24 | $42.50 | $61.2K | 17.7K | 116 |
| WFC | PUT | SWEEP | BULLISH | 01/19/24 | $42.50 | $55.8K | 17.7K | 2.0K |
| WFC | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/19/24 | $42.50 | $53.8K | 17.7K | 1.0K |
Where Is Wells Fargo Standing Right Now?
- With a volume of 18,719,480, the price of WFC is down -0.81% at $43.27.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching oversold.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 72 days.
What The Experts Say On Wells Fargo:
- BMO Capital has decided to maintain their Market Perform rating on Wells Fargo, which currently sits at a price target of $60.
- Raymond James has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Wells Fargo, which currently sits at a price target of $60.
- Citigroup upgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $56
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.
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