Costco Wholesale Unusual Options Activity

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Costco Wholesale COST.

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 COST, 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 28 uncommon options trades for Costco Wholesale.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 39% bullish and 60%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 4 are puts, for a total amount of $381,337, and 24 are calls, for a total amount of $1,655,277.

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 $270.0 to $700.0 for Costco Wholesale over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Costco Wholesale's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Costco Wholesale's significant trades, within a strike price range of $270.0 to $700.0, over the past month.

Costco Wholesale 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Noteworthy Options Activity:

About Costco Wholesale

Costco operates a membership-based, no-frills retail model, predicated on offering a select product assortment in bulk quantities at bargain prices. The firm avoids maintaining costly product displays by keeping inventory on pallets and limits distribution expenses by storing its inventory at point of sale in the warehouse. Given Costco's frugal cost structure, the firm is able to price its merchandise below competing retailers, driving high sales volume per warehouse and allowing the retailer to generate strong profits on thin margins. Costco operates 591 warehouses in the United States and boasts over 60% market share in the domestic warehouse club industry. Internationally, Costco operates another 270 warehouses, primarily in markets such as Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the U.K.

Costco Wholesale's Current Market Status

• With a volume of 879,576, the price of COST is down -0.22% at $597.78.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 9 days.

Expert Opinions on Costco Wholesale

A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $610.8.

• An analyst from Telsey Advisory Group has revised its rating downward to Outperform, adjusting the price target to $600.
• An analyst from Telsey Advisory Group has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Costco Wholesale, which currently sits at a price target of $625.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Stifel keeps a Buy rating on Costco Wholesale with a target price of $595.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Stifel keeps a Buy rating on Costco Wholesale with a target price of $615.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from Truist Securities downgraded its rating to Buy, setting a price target of $619.

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 Costco Wholesale with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts.