Spotlight on Barrick Gold: Analyzing the Surge in Options Activity

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Barrick Gold GOLD.

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 GOLD, 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 8 uncommon options trades for Barrick Gold.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 37% bullish and 62%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 2 are puts, for a total amount of $368,460, and 6 are calls, for a total amount of $305,098.

Expected Price Movements

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $11.0 to $30.0 for Barrick Gold during the past quarter.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of Barrick Gold stands at 2679.29, with a total volume reaching 5,966.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Barrick Gold, situated within the strike price corridor from $11.0 to $30.0, throughout the last 30 days.

Barrick Gold Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Noteworthy Options Activity:

About Barrick Gold

Based in Toronto, Barrick Gold is one of the world's largest gold miners. In 2023, the firm produced nearly 4.1 million attributable ounces of gold and about 420 million pounds of copper. At year-end 2023, Barrick had about two decades of gold reserves along with significant copper reserves. After buying Randgold in 2019 and combining its Nevada mines in a joint venture with competitor Newmont later that year, it operates mines in 19 countries in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company also has growing copper exposure. Its potential Reko Diq project in Pakistan, if developed, could double copper production by the end of the decade.

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

Barrick Gold's Current Market Status

• Trading volume stands at 6,149,314, with GOLD's price up by 0.1%, positioned at $20.5.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
• Earnings announcement expected in 43 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Barrick Gold

Over the past month, 1 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $24.0.

• An analyst from Argus Research upgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $24.

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 Barrick Gold options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.