Taiwan Semiconductor Unusual Options Activity For February 04

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Taiwan Semiconductor TSM.

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 TSM, 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 105 uncommon options trades for Taiwan Semiconductor.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 42% bullish and 40%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 43 are puts, for a total amount of $4,591,158, and 62 are calls, for a total amount of $8,659,150.

Predicted Price Range

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $90.0 and $330.0 for Taiwan Semiconductor, 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 Taiwan Semiconductor's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Taiwan Semiconductor's significant trades, within a strike price range of $90.0 to $330.0, over the past month.

Taiwan Semiconductor 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Taiwan Semiconductor

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the world's largest dedicated chip foundry, with over 60% market share. TSMC was founded in 1987 as a joint venture of Philips, the government of Taiwan, and private investors. It went public as an ADR in the US in 1997. TSMC's scale and high-quality technology allow the firm to generate solid operating margins, even in the highly competitive foundry business. Furthermore, the shift to the fabless business model has created tailwinds for TSMC. The foundry leader has an illustrious customer base, including Apple, AMD, and Nvidia, that looks to apply cutting-edge process technologies to its semiconductor designs. TSMC employs more than 73,000 people.

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Taiwan Semiconductor, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Taiwan Semiconductor's Current Market Status

• Trading volume stands at 7,951,459, with TSM's price up by 2.15%, positioned at $204.1.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
• Earnings announcement expected in 72 days.

Expert Opinions on Taiwan Semiconductor

In the last month, 2 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $240.0.

Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move

Benzinga Edge's Unusual Options board spots potential market movers before they happen. See what positions big money is taking on your favorite stocks. Click here for access. * An analyst from Needham downgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $225. * An analyst from Barclays has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Taiwan Semiconductor, which currently sits at a price target 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 Taiwan Semiconductor, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.