Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ).
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 VZ, 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 13 uncommon options trades for Verizon Communications.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 30% bullish and 69%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 2 are puts, for a total amount of $138,360, and 11 are calls, for a total amount of $470,521.
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 $40.0 to $45.0 for Verizon Communications over the last 3 months.
Volume & Open Interest Development
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Verizon Communications options trades today is 5206.25 with a total volume of 9,633.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Verizon Communications's big money trades within a strike price range of $40.0 to $45.0 over the last 30 days.
Verizon Communications 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VZ | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 10/21/22 | $45.00 | $77.9K | 14.9K | 1.4K |
| VZ | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 09/16/22 | $45.00 | $71.0K | 17.2K | 3.7K |
| VZ | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/20/23 | $43.00 | $67.2K | 2.7K | 0 |
| VZ | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 10/21/22 | $45.00 | $65.1K | 14.9K | 2.6K |
| VZ | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 01/19/24 | $40.00 | $60.5K | 4.2K | 354 |
Where Is Verizon Communications Standing Right Now?
- With a volume of 18,842,756, the price of VZ is down -1.57% at $43.48.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching oversold.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 57 days.
What The Experts Say On Verizon Communications:
- MoffettNathanson downgraded its action to Underperform with a price target of $41
- Cowen & Co. has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Verizon Communications, which currently sits at a price target of $64.
- RBC Capital has decided to maintain their Sector Perform rating on Verizon Communications, which currently sits at a price target of $50.
- Raymond James has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Verizon Communications, which currently sits at a price target of $55.
- B of A Securities downgraded its action to Neutral with a price target of $51
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 want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Verizon Communications, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
