Looking At Mastercard's Recent Unusual Options Activity

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Mastercard MA.

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 MA, 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 19 uncommon options trades for Mastercard.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 47% bullish and 47%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 10 are puts, for a total amount of $506,161, and 9 are calls, for a total amount of $481,393.

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 $525.0 to $680.0 for Mastercard over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

Looking at the volume and open interest is an insightful way to conduct due diligence on a stock.

This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Mastercard's options for a given strike price.

Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Mastercard's whale activity within a strike price range from $525.0 to $680.0 in the last 30 days.

Mastercard Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Mastercard

Mastercard is the second-largest payment processor in the world, having processed close to over $9 trillion in volume during 2023. Mastercard operates in over 200 countries and processes transactions in over 150 currencies.

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

Current Position of Mastercard

• Trading volume stands at 513,887, with MA's price down by -0.12%, positioned at $563.33.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be may be approaching overbought.
• Earnings announcement expected in 63 days.

What The Experts Say On Mastercard

A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $649.0.

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. * Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Susquehanna keeps a Positive rating on Mastercard with a target price of $670. * An analyst from RBC Capital has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Mastercard, which currently sits at a price target of $650. * An analyst from Wells Fargo has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Mastercard, which currently sits at a price target of $625. * An analyst from UBS persists with their Buy rating on Mastercard, maintaining a target price of $660. * An analyst from Raymond James downgraded its action to Outperform with a price target of $640.

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