Spotlight on Intercontinental Exchange: Analyzing the Surge in Options Activity

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Intercontinental Exchange ICE.

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 ICE, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 15 options trades for Intercontinental Exchange.

This isn't normal.

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

Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $32,200, and 14, calls, for a total amount of $565,743.

Projected Price Targets

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $130.0 to $140.0 for Intercontinental Exchange over the recent three months.

Insights into Volume & Open Interest

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 Intercontinental Exchange'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 Intercontinental Exchange's whale trades within a strike price range from $130.0 to $140.0 in the last 30 days.

Intercontinental Exchange Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange is a vertically integrated operator of financial exchanges and provides ancillary data products. Though the company is probably best known for its ownership of the New York Stock Exchange, which it acquired in 2013, ICE operates a large derivatives exchange, too. The company's largest commodity futures product is the ICE Brent crude futures contract. In addition to the exchanges business, which is about 56% of net revenue, Intercontinental Exchange has used a series of acquisitions to create its mortgage technology business (15% of net revenue) and fixed-income and data services segment (29% of net revenue).

Having examined the options trading patterns of Intercontinental Exchange, 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 Intercontinental Exchange

• Trading volume stands at 765,257, with ICE's price down by -0.22%, positioned at $137.56.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be may be approaching overbought.
• Earnings announcement expected in 24 days.

What Analysts Are Saying About Intercontinental Exchange

A total of 3 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $155.66666666666666.

• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods keeps a Outperform rating on Intercontinental Exchange with a target price of $152.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Barclays continues to hold a Overweight rating for Intercontinental Exchange, targeting a price of $155.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Citigroup continues to hold a Buy rating for Intercontinental Exchange, targeting a price of $160.

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 Intercontinental Exchange options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.