Marriott Intl's Options: A Look at What the Big Money is Thinking

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Marriott Intl MAR.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the positions 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 MAR, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

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

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 18% bullish and 72%, bearish.

Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $32,744, and 10, calls, for a total amount of $1,127,360.

Projected Price Targets

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $125.0 and $260.0 for Marriott Intl, spanning the last three 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 Marriott Intl's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Marriott Intl's significant trades, within a strike price range of $125.0 to $260.0, over the past month.

Marriott Intl Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview

Biggest Options Spotted:

About Marriott Intl

Marriott operates 1.6 million rooms across roughly 30 brands. At the end of 2023, luxury represented roughly 10% of total rooms, premium 42%, select service was 46%, midscale 1%, and other 1%. Marriott, Courtyard, and Sheraton are the largest brands, while Autograph, Tribute, Moxy, Aloft, and Element are newer lifestyle brands. Managed and franchised represented 97% of total rooms as of Dec. 31, 2023. North America makes up 63% of total rooms. Managed, franchise, and incentive fees represent the vast majority of revenue and profitability for the company.

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Marriott Intl, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Present Market Standing of Marriott Intl

• With a trading volume of 519,051, the price of MAR is up by 0.5%, reaching $236.21.
• Current RSI values indicate that the stock is is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
• Next earnings report is scheduled for 6 days from now.

What The Experts Say On Marriott Intl

2 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $253.0.

• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from JP Morgan continues to hold a Neutral rating for Marriott Intl, targeting a price of $255.
• An analyst from Barclays persists with their Equal-Weight rating on Marriott Intl, maintaining a target price of $251.

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