Vale Unusual Options Activity For January 04

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Vale VALE.

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 VALE, 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 27 uncommon options trades for Vale.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 14% bullish and 85%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 18 are puts, for a total amount of $972,992, and 9 are calls, for a total amount of $394,642.

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 $14.0 to $17.0 for Vale during the past quarter.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

Looking at the volume and open interest is a powerful move while trading options. This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Vale'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 Vale's whale trades within a strike price range from $14.0 to $17.0 in the last 30 days.

Vale Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview

Biggest Options Spotted:

About Vale

Vale is a large global miner and the world's largest producer of iron ore and pellets. In recent years the company has sold noncore assets such as its fertilizer, coal, and steel operations to concentrate on iron ore, nickel, and copper. Earnings are dominated by the bulk materials division, primarily iron ore and iron ore pellets. The base metals division is much smaller, consisting of nickel mines and smelters along with copper mines producing copper in concentrate. Vale has agreed to sell a minority 13% stake in its base metals business, which is expected to become effective early in 2024, and which is likely the first step in separating base metals and iron ore.

In light of the recent options history for Vale, it's now appropriate to focus on the company itself. We aim to explore its current performance.

Vale's Current Market Status

• Trading volume stands at 9,788,144, with VALE's price down by -1.15%, positioned at $15.44.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be may be approaching overbought.
• Earnings announcement expected in 42 days.

What The Experts Say On Vale

In the last month, 2 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $15.0.

• An analyst from UBS persists with their Neutral rating on Vale, maintaining a target price of $15.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Barclays keeps a Overweight rating on Vale with a target price of $15.

Trading options involves greater risks but also offers the potential for higher profits. Savvy traders mitigate these risks through ongoing education, strategic trade adjustments, utilizing various indicators, and staying attuned to market dynamics. Keep up with the latest options trades for Vale with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts.