Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on American Express AXP.
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 AXP, 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 10 uncommon options trades for American Express.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 40% bullish and 40%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 3 are puts, for a total amount of $135,720, and 7 are calls, for a total amount of $343,625.
What's The Price Target?
Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $180.0 to $260.0 for American Express over the last 3 months.
Insights into Volume & Open Interest
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for American Express options trades today is 1784.22 with a total volume of 670.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for American Express's big money trades within a strike price range of $180.0 to $260.0 over the last 30 days.
American Express Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days
Largest Options Trades Observed:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Ask | Bid | Price | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AXP | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/16/26 | $32.45 | $30.9 | $31.21 | $240.00 | $156.1K | 7.8K | 50 |
| AXP | PUT | TRADE | BULLISH | 08/16/24 | $10.25 | $9.9 | $10.0 | $240.00 | $60.0K | 1.3K | 62 |
| AXP | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/17/25 | $11.9 | $11.4 | $11.85 | $220.00 | $43.8K | 2.0K | 37 |
| AXP | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 03/21/25 | $11.05 | $10.9 | $11.05 | $260.00 | $34.2K | 1.0K | 18 |
| AXP | CALL | TRADE | NEUTRAL | 01/16/26 | $68.05 | $66.9 | $67.58 | $180.00 | $33.7K | 533 | 5 |
About American Express
American Express is a global financial institution, operating in about 130 countries, that provides consumers and businesses charge and credit card payment products. The company also operates a highly profitable merchant payment network. Since 2018, it has operated in three segments: global consumer services, global commercial services, and global merchant and network services. In addition to payment products, the company's commercial business offers expense management tools, consulting services, and business loans.
Following our analysis of the options activities associated with American Express, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.
Current Position of American Express
- Currently trading with a volume of 1,633,899, the AXP's price is up by 2.47%, now at $231.5.
- RSI readings suggest the stock is currently is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
- Anticipated earnings release is in 73 days.
What The Experts Say On American Express
Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $258.2.
- Maintaining their stance, an analyst from B of A Securities continues to hold a Buy rating for American Express, targeting a price of $263.
- An analyst from Monness, Crespi, Hardt persists with their Buy rating on American Express, maintaining a target price of $265.
- An analyst from Barclays has decided to maintain their Equal-Weight rating on American Express, which currently sits at a price target of $223.
- Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods continues to hold a Outperform rating for American Express, targeting a price of $280.
- An analyst from Compass Point downgraded its action to Neutral with a price target of $260.
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 American Express, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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