Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Mastercard (NYSE:MA).
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 MA, 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 30 uncommon options trades for Mastercard.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 46% bullish and 33%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 17 are puts, for a total amount of $1,580,209, and 13 are calls, for a total amount of $435,296.
Expected Price Movements
Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $270.0 to $600.0 for Mastercard over the last 3 months.
Insights into Volume & Open Interest
In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of Mastercard stands at 399.53, with a total volume reaching 3,600.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Mastercard, situated within the strike price corridor from $270.0 to $600.0, throughout the last 30 days.
Mastercard Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days
Biggest Options Spotted:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Ask | Bid | Price | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA | PUT | TRADE | BEARISH | 12/19/25 | $29.15 | $26.1 | $28.26 | $590.00 | $398.4K | 2.8K | 142 |
| MA | PUT | TRADE | BEARISH | 12/19/25 | $29.75 | $29.7 | $29.75 | $595.00 | $119.0K | 286 | 116 |
| MA | PUT | SWEEP | BULLISH | 12/19/25 | $35.1 | $32.45 | $32.4 | $600.00 | $110.2K | 504 | 161 |
| MA | PUT | SWEEP | BULLISH | 12/19/25 | $35.1 | $32.8 | $32.95 | $600.00 | $108.9K | 504 | 194 |
| MA | PUT | SWEEP | BULLISH | 12/19/25 | $35.1 | $32.5 | $32.89 | $600.00 | $108.6K | 504 | 227 |
About Mastercard
Mastercard is the second-largest payment processor in the world, having processed close to $10 trillion in volume during 2024. Mastercard operates in over 200 countries and processes transactions in over 150 currencies.
Mastercard's Current Market Status
- With a volume of 1,313,853, the price of MA is up 0.79% at $575.88.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 7 days.
Expert Opinions on Mastercard
4 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $682.25.
Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move
Benzinga Edge's Unusual Options board spots potential market movers before they happen. See what positions big money is taking on your favorite stocks. Click here for access. * Reflecting concerns, an analyst from Citigroup lowers its rating to Buy with a new price target of $735. * Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Baird keeps a Outperform rating on Mastercard with a target price of $660. * In a cautious move, an analyst from Wells Fargo downgraded its rating to Overweight, setting a price target of $669. * An analyst from Keybanc has revised its rating downward to Overweight, adjusting the price target to $665.
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 Mastercard, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
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