Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE:BABA).
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 BABA, 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 37 uncommon options trades for Alibaba Group Holding.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 37% bullish and 62%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 16 are puts, for a total amount of $1,625,792, and 21 are calls, for a total amount of $1,105,037.
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 $75.0 to $230.0 for Alibaba Group Holding 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 Alibaba Group Holding'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 Alibaba Group Holding's whale trades within a strike price range from $75.0 to $230.0 in the last 30 days.
Alibaba Group Holding 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BABA | PUT | SWEEP | BULLISH | 01/19/24 | $90.00 | $274.5K | 1.2K | 300 |
| BABA | PUT | TRADE | BEARISH | 06/17/22 | $210.00 | $256.5K | 8.2K | 82 |
| BABA | PUT | TRADE | BULLISH | 06/17/22 | $185.00 | $254.8K | 11.6K | 81 |
| BABA | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 03/17/23 | $100.00 | $212.1K | 488 | 1 |
| BABA | PUT | TRADE | BEARISH | 05/06/22 | $95.00 | $192.5K | 381 | 599 |
Where Is Alibaba Group Holding Standing Right Now?
- With a volume of 11,976,485, the price of BABA is down -2.1% at $101.36.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 31 days.
What The Experts Say On Alibaba Group Holding:
- HSBC has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Alibaba Group Holding, which currently sits at a price target of $156.
- JP Morgan downgraded its action to Underweight with a price target of $65
- UBS has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Alibaba Group Holding, which currently sits at a price target of $140.
- Citigroup has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Alibaba Group Holding, which currently sits at a price target of $177.
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.
