Spotlight on United States Steel: Analyzing the Surge in Options Activity

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on United States Steel X.

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 X, 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 26 uncommon options trades for United States Steel.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 30% bullish and 61%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 6 are puts, for a total amount of $677,870, and 20 are calls, for a total amount of $1,511,092.

Projected Price Targets

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $31.0 to $50.0 for United States Steel during the past quarter.

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 United States Steel'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 United States Steel's whale activity within a strike price range from $31.0 to $50.0 in the last 30 days.

United States Steel 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Noteworthy Options Activity:

About United States Steel

United States Steel Corp operates in the United States but also has a steelmaking capacity in Slovakia. The company's operating segments include North American Flat-Rolled (Flat-Rolled), Mini Mill, U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and Tubular Products (Tubular). The Flat-Rolled segment includes U. S. Steel's integrated steel plants and equity investees in North America involved in the production of slabs, strip mill plates, sheets, and tin mill products, as well as all iron ore and coke production facilities in the United States. It serves North American customers in the service center, conversion, transportation, construction, container, and appliance, and electrical markets.

Current Position of United States Steel

• Trading volume stands at 1,504,686, with X's price up by 1.37%, positioned at $41.46.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be may be approaching overbought.
• Earnings announcement expected in 38 days.

What Analysts Are Saying About United States Steel

In the last month, 3 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $43.67.

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 Morgan Stanley keeps a Equal-Weight rating on United States Steel with a target price of $43. * An analyst from JP Morgan has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on United States Steel, which currently sits at a price target of $43. * An analyst from BMO Capital has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on United States Steel, which currently sits at a price target of $45.

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 United States Steel, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.