Looking At Applied Mat's Recent Unusual Options Activity

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Applied Mat AMAT.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the positions showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with AMAT, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 11 options trades for Applied Mat.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 54% bullish and 45%, bearish.

Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $27,225, and 10, calls, for a total amount of $449,967.

What's The Price Target?

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $180.0 and $260.0 for Applied Mat, spanning the last three months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Applied Mat options trades today is 607.8 with a total volume of 754.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Applied Mat's big money trades within a strike price range of $180.0 to $260.0 over the last 30 days.

Applied Mat Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Noteworthy Options Activity:

About Applied Mat

Applied Materials is the largest semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment, or WFE, manufacturer in the world. Applied Materials has a broad portfolio spanning nearly every corner of the WFE ecosystem. Specifically, Applied Materials holds a market share leadership position in deposition, which entails the layering of new materials on semiconductor wafers. It is more exposed to general-purpose logic chips made at integrated device manufacturers and foundries. It counts the largest chipmakers in the world as customers, including TSMC, Intel, and Samsung.

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Applied Mat, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Present Market Standing of Applied Mat

• With a volume of 1,455,305, the price of AMAT is down -0.32% at $185.24.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 3 days.

What The Experts Say On Applied Mat

Over the past month, 3 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $166.66666666666666.

• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Barclays continues to hold a Underweight rating for Applied Mat, targeting a price of $140.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Raymond James keeps a Outperform rating on Applied Mat with a target price of $180.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded its rating to Neutral, setting a price target of $180.

Trading options involves greater risks but also offers the potential for higher profits. Savvy traders mitigate these risks through ongoing education, strategic trade adjustments, utilizing various indicators, and staying attuned to market dynamics. Keep up with the latest options trades for Applied Mat with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts.