Smart Money Is Betting Big In COST Options

High-rolling investors have positioned themselves bearish on Costco Wholesale COST, and it's important for retail traders to take note. \This activity came to our attention today through Benzinga's tracking of publicly available options data. The identities of these investors are uncertain, but such a significant move in COST often signals that someone has privileged information.

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 8 options trades for Costco Wholesale. This is not a typical pattern.

The sentiment among these major traders is split, with 37% bullish and 62% bearish. Among all the options we identified, there was one put, amounting to $56,940, and 7 calls, totaling $208,365.

Predicted Price Range

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $535.0 to $685.0 for Costco Wholesale during the past quarter.

Insights into Volume & Open Interest

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Costco Wholesale options trades today is 395.0 with a total volume of 141.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Costco Wholesale's big money trades within a strike price range of $535.0 to $685.0 over the last 30 days.

Costco Wholesale Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview

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 nearly 600 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.

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Costco Wholesale, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Current Position of Costco Wholesale

• With a trading volume of 169,481, the price of COST is down by 0.0%, reaching $683.24.
• Current RSI values indicate that the stock is may be approaching overbought.
• Next earnings report is scheduled for 44 days from now.

What Analysts Are Saying About Costco Wholesale

Over the past month, 4 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $700.25.

• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Oppenheimer keeps a Outperform rating on Costco Wholesale with a target price of $695.
• An analyst from Truist Securities has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Costco Wholesale, which currently sits at a price target of $741.
• An analyst from Tigress Financial persists with their Buy rating on Costco Wholesale, maintaining a target price of $745.
• An analyst from Northcoast Research downgraded its action to Neutral with a price target of $620.

Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Costco Wholesale options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.