Benzinga | Jan 14, 2022 11:47AM EST

Apple Whale Trades Spotted

A whale with a lot of money to spend has taken a noticeably bearish stance on Apple.

Looking at options history for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) we detected 38 strange trades.

If we consider the specifics of each trade, it is accurate to state that 28% of the investors opened trades with bullish expectations and 71% with bearish.

From the overall spotted trades, 14 are puts, for a total amount of $896,543 and 24, calls, for a total amount of $1,162,999.

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 $150.0 to $185.0 for Apple over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

Looking at the volume and open interest is an insightful way to conduct due diligence on a stock.

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 activity within a strike price range from $150.0 to $185.0 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 PUT SWEEP BULLISH 01/21/ $175.00 $170.0K 48.8K 721 22AAPL PUT SWEEP BEARISH 01/14/ $177.50 $150.6K 14.9K 641 22AAPL PUT SWEEP NEUTRAL 03/18/ $175.00 $145.2K 15.8K 689 22AAPL CALL SWEEP BEARISH 02/18/ $175.00 $123.8K 24.1K 1.8K 22AAPL CALL SWEEP BEARISH 02/18/ $170.00 $106.0K 39.3K 435 22

Where Is Apple Standing Right Now?

* With a volume of 30,596,726, the price of AAPL is down -0.53% at $171.27.

* RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.

* Next earnings are expected to be released in 13 days.

What The Experts Say On Apple:

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

* Loop Capital has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Apple, which currently sits at a price target of $210.

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.