Spotlight on Alphabet: Analyzing the Surge in Options Activity

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Alphabet GOOGL.

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 GOOGL, 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 98 uncommon options trades for Alphabet.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 41% bullish and 42%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 21 are puts, for a total amount of $2,763,974, and 77 are calls, for a total amount of $4,467,828.

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 $50.0 and $340.0 for Alphabet, spanning the last three months.

Insights into Volume & Open Interest

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 Alphabet'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 Alphabet's whale activity within a strike price range from $50.0 to $340.0 in the last 30 days.

Alphabet Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Alphabet

Alphabet is a holding company. Internet media giant Google is a wholly owned subsidiary. Google services account for nearly 90% of Alphabet's revenue, of which more than 85% is from online ads. Other Google services revenue is from sales of apps and content on Google Play and YouTube, as well as sales of hardware such as Chromebooks, the Pixel smartphone, and smart home products, which include Nest and Google Home. Google's cloud computing offerings account for a bit more than 10% of total Alphabet revenue. Alphabet's moonshot investments are in its other bets segment, where it bets on technology to enhance health (Verily), provide faster internet access (Google Fiber), enable self-driving cars (Waymo), and more.

Where Is Alphabet Standing Right Now?

• With a volume of 10,372,884, the price of GOOGL is up 0.77% at $167.96.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 63 days.

What Analysts Are Saying About Alphabet

A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $205.4.

• An analyst from Needham has revised its rating downward to Buy, adjusting the price target to $210.
• An analyst from Piper Sandler has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Alphabet, which currently sits at a price target of $206.
• An analyst from Roth MKM has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Alphabet, which currently sits at a price target of $206.
• An analyst from Guggenheim has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Alphabet, which currently sits at a price target of $205.
• An analyst from JMP Securities downgraded its action to Market Outperform with a price target of $200.

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 Alphabet options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.