Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Baidu BIDU.
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 BIDU, 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 Baidu.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 20% bullish and 50%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 2 are puts, for a total amount of $52,508, and 8 are calls, for a total amount of $345,687.
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 $75.0 to $135.0 for Baidu over the last 3 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 Baidu's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Baidu's significant trades, within a strike price range of $75.0 to $135.0, over the past month.
Baidu Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days
Noteworthy Options Activity:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Ask | Bid | Price | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIDU | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/17/25 | $2.88 | $2.84 | $2.86 | $100.00 | $85.6K | 3.2K | 308 |
| BIDU | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 09/27/24 | $4.65 | $4.55 | $4.65 | $80.00 | $51.1K | 68 | 114 |
| BIDU | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 10/18/24 | $9.9 | $9.75 | $9.75 | $75.00 | $46.8K | 1.5K | 51 |
| BIDU | CALL | SWEEP | NEUTRAL | 01/17/25 | $2.9 | $2.85 | $2.89 | $100.00 | $43.5K | 3.2K | 575 |
| BIDU | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/17/25 | $2.95 | $2.89 | $2.89 | $100.00 | $33.4K | 3.2K | 424 |
About Baidu
Baidu is the largest internet search engine in China with over 50% share of the search engine market in 2024 per web analytics firm, Statcounter. The firm generated 72% of core revenue from online marketing services from its search engine in 2023. Outside its search engine, Baidu is a technology-driven company and its other major growth initiatives are artificial intelligence cloud, video streaming services, voice recognition technology, and autonomous driving.
Having examined the options trading patterns of Baidu, our attention now turns directly to the company. This shift allows us to delve into its present market position and performance
Current Position of Baidu
- Trading volume stands at 909,901, with BIDU's price up by 2.13%, positioned at $83.8.
- RSI indicators show the stock to be may be approaching overbought.
- Earnings announcement expected in 69 days.
Expert Opinions on Baidu
A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $116.4.
- Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Susquehanna continues to hold a Positive rating for Baidu, targeting a price of $105.
- An analyst from Barclays persists with their Overweight rating on Baidu, maintaining a target price of $115.
- Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Loop Capital keeps a Buy rating on Baidu with a target price of $115.
- Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from B of A Securities keeps a Buy rating on Baidu with a target price of $117.
- Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Bernstein continues to hold a Outperform rating for Baidu, targeting a price of $130.
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 Baidu, 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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