What the Options Market Tells Us About Baidu

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Baidu BIDU.

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 BIDU, 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 16 uncommon options trades for Baidu.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 50% bullish and 31%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 5 are puts, for a total amount of $591,412, and 11 are calls, for a total amount of $604,637.

Predicted Price Range

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $87.0 and $135.0 for Baidu, spanning the last three months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

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 Baidu'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 Baidu's whale trades within a strike price range from $87.0 to $135.0 in the last 30 days.

Baidu Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Baidu

Baidu is the largest internet search engine in China with over 50% share of the search engine market in 2024 per web analytics firm, Statcounter. The firm generated 72% of core revenue from online marketing services from its search engine in 2023. Outside its search engine, Baidu is a technology-driven company and its other major growth initiatives are artificial intelligence cloud, video streaming services, voice recognition technology, and autonomous driving.

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

Baidu's Current Market Status

• Currently trading with a volume of 1,760,774, the BIDU's price is up by 1.15%, now at $106.5.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be overbought.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 49 days.

What Analysts Are Saying About Baidu

In the last month, 2 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $102.5.

Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days?

20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. Click here for access. * An analyst from Susquehanna has decided to maintain their Positive rating on Baidu, which currently sits at a price target of $105. * An analyst from HSBC has revised its rating downward to Hold, adjusting the price target to $100.

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