Spotlight on Snap: Analyzing the Surge in Options Activity

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Snap SNAP.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades 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 SNAP, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 9 uncommon options trades for Snap.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 33% bullish and 66%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 5 are puts, for a total amount of $963,449, and 4 are calls, for a total amount of $976,535.

Predicted Price Range

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $9.0 to $15.0 for Snap over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Snap options trades today is 5860.43 with a total volume of 9,437.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Snap's big money trades within a strike price range of $9.0 to $15.0 over the last 30 days.

Snap 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Snap

Snap, which refers to itself as a camera company, has one of the most popular social networking apps, Snapchat, in developed regions such as North America and Europe. Snap generates nearly all its revenue from advertising with 70% coming from North America. The firm is headquartered in Venice, California.

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Snap, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Current Position of Snap

• Trading volume stands at 4,261,049, with SNAP's price up by 0.18%, positioned at $11.02.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be may be approaching oversold.
• Earnings announcement expected in 56 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Snap

Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $13.7.

• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Truist Securities continues to hold a Hold rating for Snap, targeting a price of $12.
• An analyst from Susquehanna persists with their Neutral rating on Snap, maintaining a target price of $12.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Goldman Sachs keeps a Neutral rating on Snap with a target price of $13.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from BMO Capital keeps a Outperform rating on Snap with a target price of $20.
• An analyst from Morgan Stanley has decided to maintain their Underweight rating on Snap, which currently sits at a price target of $11.

Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Snap options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.