Benzinga | Dec 28, 2021 10:48AM EST

Check Out What Whales Are Doing With SQ

Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Block (NYSE:SQ).

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 SQ, 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 14 uncommon options trades for Block.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 42% bullish and 57%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 7 are puts, for a total amount of $328,035, and 7 are calls, for a total amount of $434,843.

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 $100.0 to $260.0 for Block 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 Block'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 Block's whale trades within a strike price range from $100.0 to $260.0 in the last 30 days.

Block 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 InterestSQ CALL TRADE BEARISH 04/14/ $210.00 $193.9K 363 500 22SQ PUT TRADE BEARISH 12/31/ $260.00 $102.3K 12 11 21SQ PUT SWEEP BULLISH 09/16/ $155.00 $67.8K 2.4K 37 22SQ CALL SWEEP NEUTRAL 01/21/ $170.00 $63.5K 2.5K 114 22SQ CALL TRADE BEARISH 04/14/ $210.00 $52.0K 363 0 22

Where Is Block Standing Right Now?

* With a volume of 900,996, the price of SQ is down -0.55% at $167.56.

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

* Next earnings are expected to be released in 56 days.

What The Experts Say On Block:

* B of A Securities upgraded its action to Neutral with a price target of $221

* Mizuho has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Block, which currently sits at a price target of $285.

* Wedbush has decided to maintain their Neutral rating on Block, which currently sits at a price target of $190.

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.