Decoding Bank of America's Options Activity: What's the Big Picture?

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Bank of America BAC.

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 BAC, 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 16 uncommon options trades for Bank of America.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 43% bullish and 43%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 6 are puts, for a total amount of $766,413, and 10 are calls, for a total amount of $508,019.

Projected Price Targets

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $13.0 to $60.0 for Bank of America over the last 3 months.

Insights into Volume & Open Interest

Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Bank of America's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Bank of America's significant trades, within a strike price range of $13.0 to $60.0, over the past month.

Bank of America Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, with more than $3.0 trillion in assets. It is organized into four major segments: consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking, and global markets. Bank of America's consumer-facing lines of business include its network of branches and deposit-gathering operations, retail lending products, credit and debit cards, and small-business services. The company's Merrill Lynch operations provide brokerage and wealth-management services, as does its private bank. Wholesale lines of business include investment banking, corporate and commercial real estate lending, and capital markets operations. Bank of America has operations in several countries but is primarily US-focused.

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

Bank of America's Current Market Status

• Currently trading with a volume of 10,234,788, the BAC's price is up by 0.48%, now at $38.35.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be oversold.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 63 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Bank of America

5 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $43.8.

• An analyst from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded its action to Outperform with a price target of $48.
• Reflecting concerns, an analyst from CFRA lowers its rating to Sell with a new price target of $39.
• An analyst from RBC Capital persists with their Outperform rating on Bank of America, maintaining a target price of $46.
• An analyst from Morgan Stanley has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Bank of America, which currently sits at a price target of $46.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from BMO Capital continues to hold a Market Perform rating for Bank of America, targeting a price of $40.

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 Bank of America options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.