Benzinga | Jan 26, 2022 02:04PM EST

Looking At Taiwan Semiconductor's Recent Whale Trades

Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM).

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 TSM, 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 28 uncommon options trades for Taiwan Semiconductor.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 46% bullish and 53%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 21 are puts, for a total amount of $2,091,449, and 7 are calls, for a total amount of $381,675.

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 $95.0 to $150.0 for Taiwan Semiconductor 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 Taiwan Semiconductor'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 Taiwan Semiconductor's whale activity within a strike price range from $95.0 to $150.0 in the last 30 days.

Taiwan Semiconductor 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 InterestTSM PUT TRADE NEUTRAL 01/19/ $115.00 $557.3K 67 325 24TSM PUT TRADE BULLISH 06/17/ $120.00 $519.0K 4.8K 610 22TSM CALL SWEEP BULLISH 01/28/ $127.00 $144.6K 710 320 22TSM PUT SWEEP BEARISH 09/16/ $135.00 $139.6K 1.2K 119 22TSM PUT TRADE BEARISH 09/16/ $135.00 $98.0K 1.2K 49 22

Where Is Taiwan Semiconductor Standing Right Now?

* With a volume of 6,269,821, the price of TSM is up 2.35% at $125.36.

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

* Next earnings are expected to be released in 78 days.

What The Experts Say On Taiwan Semiconductor:

* Atlantic Equities upgraded its action to Overweight with a price target of $170

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.