Behind the Scenes of Apple's Latest Options Trends

Deep-pocketed investors have adopted a bullish approach towards Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and it’s something market players shouldn’t ignore. Our tracking of public options records at Benzinga unveiled this significant move today. The identity of these investors remains unknown, but such a substantial move in AAPL usually suggests something big is about to happen.

We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga’s options scanner highlighted 252 extraordinary options activities for Apple. This level of activity is out of the ordinary.

The general mood among these heavyweight investors is divided, with 48% leaning bullish and 39% bearish. Among these notable options, 15 are puts, totaling $636,278, and 237 are calls, amounting to $20,906,407.

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 $50.0 to $300.0 for Apple over the last 3 months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Apple options trades today is 12227.26 with a total volume of 6,822,894.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Apple’s big money trades within a strike price range of $50.0 to $300.0 over the last 30 days.

Apple 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Apple

Apple is among the largest companies in the world, with a broad portfolio of hardware and software products targeted at consumers and businesses. Apple’s iPhone makes up a majority of the firm sales, and Apple’s other products like Mac, iPad, and Watch are designed around the iPhone as the focal point of an expansive software ecosystem. Apple has progressively worked to add new applications, like streaming video, subscription bundles, and augmented reality. The firm designs its own software and semiconductors while working with subcontractors like Foxconn and TSMC to build its products and chips. Slightly less than half of Apple’s sales come directly through its flagship stores, with a majority of sales coming indirectly through partnerships and distribution.

Having examined the options trading patterns of Apple, our attention now turns directly to the company. This shift allows us to delve into its present market position and performance

Apple’s Current Market Status

• With a volume of 24,907,534, the price of AAPL is up 2.95% at $259.75.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 10 days.

What Analysts Are Saying About Apple

In the last month, 5 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $286.03.

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* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Evercore ISI Group continues to hold a Outperform rating for Apple, targeting a price of $290.
* An analyst from Seaport Global has revised its rating downward to Buy, adjusting the price target to $310.
* Showing optimism, an analyst from Loop Capital upgrades its rating to Buy with a revised price target of $315.
* An analyst from Jefferies downgraded its action to Underperform with a price target of $205.
* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Wedbush continues to hold a Outperform rating for Apple, targeting a price of $310.

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 Apple, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.