Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Mastercard (NYSE:MA).

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 MA, 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 8 uncommon options trades for Mastercard.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 25% bullish and 62%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 5 are puts, for a total amount of $187,149, and 3 are calls, for a total amount of $143,263.

Expected Price Movements

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $480.0 to $580.0 for Mastercard over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Mastercard's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Mastercard's significant trades, within a strike price range of $480.0 to $580.0, over the past month.

Mastercard Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Mastercard

Mastercard is the second-largest payment processor in the world, having processed close to over $9 trillion in volume during 2023. Mastercard operates in over 200 countries and processes transactions in over 150 currencies.

Where Is Mastercard Standing Right Now?

• With a volume of 1,156,545, the price of MA is up 0.15% at $567.99.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 82 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Mastercard

5 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $645.0.

Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move

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 want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Mastercard, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.