Benzinga | Jan 6, 2022 04:02PM EST

What Are Whales Doing With UnitedHealth Group

Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bullish stance on UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH).

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 UNH, 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 36 uncommon options trades for UnitedHealth Group.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 61% bullish and 38%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 16 are puts, for a total amount of $769,623, and 20 are calls, for a total amount of $1,283,804.

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 $270.0 to $540.0 for UnitedHealth Group 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 UnitedHealth Group'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 UnitedHealth Group's whale activity within a strike price range from $270.0 to $540.0 in the last 30 days.

UnitedHealth Group 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 InterestUNH CALL SWEEP BULLISH 01/19/ $430.00 $210.0K 17 20 24UNH CALL TRADE BEARISH 01/21/ $270.00 $208.0K 161 10 22UNH PUT SWEEP BULLISH 01/14/ $482.50 $188.0K 26 414 22UNH PUT SWEEP BULLISH 01/21/ $490.00 $104.1K 726 190 22UNH CALL TRADE NEUTRAL 01/19/ $510.00 $96.0K 20 15 24

Where Is UnitedHealth Group Standing Right Now?

* With a volume of 5,360,501, the price of UNH is down -4.15% at $469.39.

* 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 UnitedHealth Group:

* Truist Securities has decided to maintain their Buy rating on UnitedHealth Group, which currently sits at a price target of $575.

* Mizuho has decided to maintain their Buy rating on UnitedHealth Group, which currently sits at a price target of $550.

* Goldman Sachs downgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $535

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.