Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Altria Group (NYSE:MO).
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 MO, 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 10 uncommon options trades for Altria Group.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 20% bullish and 80%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 4 are puts, for a total amount of $309,101, and 6 are calls, for a total amount of $366,190.
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 $35.0 to $47.5 for Altria Group 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 Altria Group'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 Altria Group's whale trades within a strike price range from $35.0 to $47.5 in the last 30 days.
Altria Group 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MO | PUT | TRADE | NEUTRAL | 09/16/22 | $40.00 | $192.0K | 7.0K | 15 |
| MO | CALL | TRADE | BULLISH | 09/16/22 | $37.50 | $184.5K | 1.9K | 312 |
| MO | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 03/17/23 | $42.50 | $58.4K | 1.7K | 416 |
| MO | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 01/20/23 | $35.00 | $39.5K | 2.7K | 125 |
| MO | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/19/24 | $37.50 | $36.9K | 10.5K | 75 |
Where Is Altria Group Standing Right Now?
- With a volume of 5,472,129, the price of MO is up 0.68% at $43.06.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 6 days.
What The Experts Say On Altria Group:
- Cowen & Co. has decided to maintain their Market Perform rating on Altria Group, which currently sits at a price target of $45.
- Deutsche Bank has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Altria Group, which currently sits at a price target of $46.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded its action to Equal-Weight with a price target of $43
- Barclays downgraded its action to Underweight with a price target of $36
- B of A Securities has decided to maintain their Neutral rating on Altria Group, which currently sits at a price target of $45.
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 Altria Group, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
