Rio Tinto Unusual Options Activity For March 12

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Rio Tinto RIO.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with RIO, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 11 uncommon options trades for Rio Tinto.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 9% bullish and 90%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 4 are puts, for a total amount of $178,540, and 7 are calls, for a total amount of $315,386.

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What's The Price Target?

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $62.5 and $72.5 for Rio Tinto, spanning the last three months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

Assessing the volume and open interest is a strategic step in options trading. These metrics shed light on the liquidity and investor interest in Rio Tinto's options at specified strike prices. The forthcoming data visualizes the fluctuation in volume and open interest for both calls and puts, linked to Rio Tinto's substantial trades, within a strike price spectrum from $62.5 to $72.5 over the preceding 30 days.

Rio Tinto 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a global diversified miner. Iron ore is the dominant commodity, with significantly lesser contributions from copper, aluminum, diamonds, gold, and industrial minerals. The 1995 merger of RTZ and CRA, via a dual-listed structure, created the present-day company. The two operate as a single business entity, with shareholders in each company having equivalent economic and voting rights. Major assets included the Pilbara iron ore operations, a 30% stake in the Escondida copper mine, 66%-ownership of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, the Weipa and Gove bauxite mines in Australia, and six hydro-powered aluminum smelters in Canada.

Having examined the options trading patterns of Rio Tinto, our attention now turns directly to the company. This shift allows us to delve into its present market position and performance

Current Position of Rio Tinto

• With a volume of 3,251,830, the price of RIO is up 2.47% at $63.53.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 134 days.

Trading options involves greater risks but also offers the potential for higher profits. Savvy traders mitigate these risks through ongoing education, strategic trade adjustments, utilizing various indicators, and staying attuned to market dynamics. Keep up with the latest options trades for Rio Tinto with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts.