Unpacking the Latest Options Trading Trends in Costco Wholesale

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Costco Wholesale COST.

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 COST, 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 12 uncommon options trades for Costco Wholesale.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 50% bullish and 33%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 4 are puts, for a total amount of $409,015, and 8 are calls, for a total amount of $484,075.

Expected Price Movements

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $360.0 to $870.0 for Costco Wholesale over the recent three months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Costco Wholesale's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Costco Wholesale's significant trades, within a strike price range of $360.0 to $870.0, over the past month.

Costco Wholesale 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Noteworthy Options Activity:

About Costco Wholesale

Costco operates a membership-based, no-frills retail model, predicated on offering a select product assortment in bulk quantities at bargain prices. The firm avoids maintaining costly product displays by keeping inventory on pallets and limits distribution expenses by storing its inventory at point of sale in the warehouse. Given Costco's frugal cost structure, the firm is able to price its merchandise below competing retailers, driving high sales volume per warehouse and allowing the retailer to generate strong profits on thin margins. Costco operates over 600 warehouses in the United States and enjoys over 60% market share in the domestic warehouse club industry. Internationally, Costco operates another 270 warehouses, primarily in markets such as Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the UK.

Current Position of Costco Wholesale

• With a volume of 430,029, the price of COST is down -0.37% at $845.15.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 92 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Costco Wholesale

In the last month, 5 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $851.0.

• An analyst from Telsey Advisory Group persists with their Outperform rating on Costco Wholesale, maintaining a target price of $850.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Evercore ISI Group keeps a Outperform rating on Costco Wholesale with a target price of $890.
• An analyst from TD Cowen has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Costco Wholesale, which currently sits at a price target of $850.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Loop Capital keeps a Buy rating on Costco Wholesale with a target price of $890.
• An analyst from Wells Fargo persists with their Equal-Weight rating on Costco Wholesale, maintaining a target price of $775.

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 Costco Wholesale options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.