IBM Unusual Options Activity

Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on IBM IBM.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the big position showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether this is an institution or just a wealthy individual, we don't know. But when something this big happens with IBM, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 11 options trades for IBM.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 36% bullish and 63%, bearish.

Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $36,080, and 10, calls, for a total amount of $361,653..

What's The Price Target?

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $120.0 to $145.0 for IBM over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

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 IBM'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 IBM's whale activity within a strike price range from $120.0 to $145.0 in the last 30 days.

IBM Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Biggest Options Spotted:

Where Is IBM Standing Right Now?

• With a volume of 2,122,584, the price of IBM is up 0.53% at $144.09.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 77 days.

What The Experts Say On IBM:

• B of A Securities has decided to maintain their Buy rating on IBM, which currently sits at a price target of $160.
• BMO Capital has decided to maintain their Market Perform rating on IBM, which currently sits at a price target of $150.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded its action to Equal-Weight with a price target of $135
• Stifel has decided to maintain their Buy rating on IBM, which currently sits at a price target of $144.
• JP Morgan downgraded its action to Neutral with a price target of $145

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