Looking At Apple's Recent Unusual Options Activity

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Apple AAPL.

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 AAPL, 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 Apple.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 55% bullish and 33%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 4 are puts, for a total amount of $265,111, and 5 are calls, for a total amount of $269,090.

Expected Price Movements

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $185.0 and $235.0 for Apple, spanning the last three 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 Apple's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Apple's significant trades, within a strike price range of $185.0 to $235.0, over the past month.

Apple 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Apple

Apple is among the largest companies in the world, with a broad portfolio of hardware and software products targeted at consumers and businesses. Apple's iPhone makes up a majority of the firm sales, and Apple's other products like Mac, iPad, and Watch are designed around the iPhone as the focal point of an expansive software ecosystem. Apple has progressively worked to add new applications, like streaming video, subscription bundles, and augmented reality. The firm designs its own software and semiconductors while working with subcontractors like Foxconn and TSMC to build its products and chips. Slightly less than half of Apple's sales come directly through its flagship stores, with a majority of sales coming indirectly through partnerships and distribution.

Apple's Current Market Status

• Currently trading with a volume of 2,400,376, the AAPL's price is down by -0.02%, now at $226.47.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching overbought.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 71 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Apple

In the last month, 5 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $242.6.

• An analyst from Maxim Group persists with their Hold rating on Apple, maintaining a target price of $203.
• An analyst from JP Morgan persists with their Overweight rating on Apple, maintaining a target price of $265.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from TD Cowen continues to hold a Buy rating for Apple, targeting a price of $250.
• An analyst from Baird persists with their Outperform rating on Apple, maintaining a target price of $240.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Citigroup continues to hold a Buy rating for Apple, targeting a price of $255.

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 Apple, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.