Benzinga | Dec 31, 2021 02:49PM EST

This Is What Whales Are Betting On Apple

Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the big position showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether this is an institution or just a wealthy individual, we don't know. But when something this big happens with AAPL, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what this whale just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 93 uncommon options trades for Apple.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 34% bullish and 65%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 26 are puts, for a total amount of $1,948,144, and 67 are calls, for a total amount of $6,424,681.

What's The Price Target?

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $48.75 to $210.0 for Apple over the last 3 months.

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 Apple'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 Apple's whale trades within a strike price range from $48.75 to $210.0 in the last 30 days.

Apple Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Biggest Options Spotted:



Symbol PUT/ Trade Sentiment Exp. Strike Total Trade Open Volume CALL Type Date Price Price InterestAAPL CALL TRADE BEARISH 01/21/ $82.50 $1.9M 2.1K 1.2K 22AAPL CALL TRADE BULLISH 09/16/ $150.00 $685.9K 18.5K 257 22AAPL PUT SWEEP BULLISH 01/19/ $180.00 $257.1K 904 87 24AAPL PUT TRADE NEUTRAL 01/20/ $180.00 $250.7K 9.0K 258 23AAPL PUT TRADE BEARISH 01/19/ $175.00 $207.9K 870 212 24

Where Is Apple Standing Right Now?

* With a volume of 33,621,176, the price of AAPL is down -0.32% at $177.62.

* RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.

* Next earnings are expected to be released in 26 days.

What The Experts Say On Apple:

* Morgan Stanley has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Apple, which currently sits at a price target of $200.

* JP Morgan has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Apple, which currently sits at a price target of $210.

* Citigroup has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Apple, which currently sits at a price target of $200.

* Evercore ISI Group has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Apple, which currently sits at a price target of $200.

* Keybanc downgraded its action to Overweight with a price target of $191

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 are already an options trader or would like to get started, head on over to Benzinga Pro. Benzinga Pro gives you up-to-date news and analytics to empower your investing and trading strategy.