Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bullish stance on Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC).
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 MPC, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.
Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 12 options trades for Marathon Petroleum.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 50% bullish and 50%, bearish.
Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $31,750, and 11, calls, for a total amount of $414,189..
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 $70.0 to $110.0 for Marathon Petroleum over the last 3 months.
Volume & Open Interest Development
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Marathon Petroleum options trades today is 3742.78 with a total volume of 4,035.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Marathon Petroleum's big money trades within a strike price range of $70.0 to $110.0 over the last 30 days.
Marathon Petroleum Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days
Biggest Options Spotted:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPC | CALL | TRADE | BULLISH | 02/25/22 | $75.00 | $77.0K | 408 | 140 |
| MPC | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 03/18/22 | $82.50 | $42.7K | 853 | 841 |
| MPC | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 02/18/22 | $80.00 | $41.0K | 20.8K | 363 |
| MPC | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 03/18/22 | $82.50 | $38.6K | 853 | 1.0K |
| MPC | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 04/14/22 | $70.00 | $37.8K | 5.5K | 35 |
Where Is Marathon Petroleum Standing Right Now?
- With a volume of 3,938,975, the price of MPC is up 0.73% at $79.87.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 83 days.
What The Experts Say On Marathon Petroleum:
- Barclays has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Marathon Petroleum, which currently sits at a price target of $80.
- Morgan Stanley has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Marathon Petroleum, which currently sits at a price target of $90.
- Raymond James has decided to maintain their Strong Buy rating on Marathon Petroleum, which currently sits at a price target of $87.
- Raymond James has decided to maintain their Strong Buy rating on Marathon Petroleum, which currently sits at a price target of $94.
- Piper Sandler downgraded its action to Neutral with a price target of $76
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.
