Behind the Scenes of Caterpillar's Latest Options Trends

Deep-pocketed investors have adopted a bearish approach towards Caterpillar CAT, 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 CAT usually suggests something big is about to happen.

We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga's options scanner highlighted 12 extraordinary options activities for Caterpillar. This level of activity is out of the ordinary.

The general mood among these heavyweight investors is divided, with 33% leaning bullish and 66% bearish. Among these notable options, 5 are puts, totaling $238,920, and 7 are calls, amounting to $473,455.

Predicted Price Range

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $280.0 to $340.0 for Caterpillar over the recent three months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

Assessing the volume and open interest is a strategic step in options trading. These metrics shed light on the liquidity and investor interest in Caterpillar's options at specified strike prices. The forthcoming data visualizes the fluctuation in volume and open interest for both calls and puts, linked to Caterpillar's substantial trades, within a strike price spectrum from $280.0 to $340.0 over the preceding 30 days.

Caterpillar Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar is the premier manufacturer of heavy equipment, power solutions, and locomotives. It is currently the world's largest manufacturer of heavy equipment with over 13% market share in 2021. The company is divided into four reportable segments: construction industries, resource industries, energy and transportation, and Caterpillar Financial Services. Its products are available through a dealer network that covers the globe with about 2,700 branches maintained by 160 dealers. Caterpillar Financial Services provides retail financing for machinery and engines to its customers, in addition to wholesale financing for dealers, which increases the likelihood of Caterpillar product sales.

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

Present Market Standing of Caterpillar

• Trading volume stands at 608,819, with CAT's price up by 0.97%, positioned at $327.03.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be may be approaching overbought.
• Earnings announcement expected in 59 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Caterpillar

Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $332.4.

• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from JP Morgan keeps a Overweight rating on Caterpillar with a target price of $385.
• An analyst from Baird persists with their Underperform rating on Caterpillar, maintaining a target price of $257.
• An analyst from Wells Fargo has decided to maintain their Equal-Weight rating on Caterpillar, which currently sits at a price target of $325.
• An analyst from Goldman Sachs has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Caterpillar, which currently sits at a price target of $357.
• Reflecting concerns, an analyst from Evercore ISI Group lowers its rating to In-Line with a new price target of $338.

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