Behind the Scenes of McDonald's's Latest Options Trends

Deep-pocketed investors have adopted a bearish approach towards McDonald's MCD, and it's something market players shouldn't ignore. Our tracking of public options records at Benzinga unveiled this significant move today. The identity of these investors remains unknown, but such a substantial move in MCD usually suggests something big is about to happen.

We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga's options scanner highlighted 18 extraordinary options activities for McDonald's. This level of activity is out of the ordinary.

The general mood among these heavyweight investors is divided, with 27% leaning bullish and 61% bearish. Among these notable options, 12 are puts, totaling $576,811, and 6 are calls, amounting to $236,821.

What's The Price Target?

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $230.0 to $280.0 for McDonald's during the past quarter.

Volume & Open Interest Development

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 McDonald's'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 McDonald's's whale trades within a strike price range from $230.0 to $280.0 in the last 30 days.

McDonald's Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About McDonald's

McDonald's is the largest restaurant owner-operator in the world, with 2023 system sales of $130 billion across nearly than 42,000 stores and 115 markets. McDonald's pioneered the franchise model, building its footprint through partnerships with independent restaurant franchisees and master franchise partners around the globe. The firm earns roughly 60% of its revenue from franchise royalty fees and lease payments, with most of the remainder coming from company-operated stores across its three core segments: the United States, internationally operated markets, and international developmental/licensed markets.

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

Present Market Standing of McDonald's

• Trading volume stands at 3,322,676, with MCD's price down by -0.03%, positioned at $265.7.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be may be oversold.
• Earnings announcement expected in 63 days.

Expert Opinions on McDonald's

Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $307.0.

• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Keybanc continues to hold a Overweight rating for McDonald's, targeting a price of $310.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Guggenheim continues to hold a Buy rating for McDonald's, targeting a price of $315.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from TD Cowen downgraded its rating to Buy, setting a price target of $305.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Wedbush keeps a Outperform rating on McDonald's with a target price of $300.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from TD Cowen downgraded its rating to Buy, setting a price target of $305.

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 McDonald's, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.