Decoding IBM's Options Activity: What's the Big Picture?

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on IBM IBM.

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 this is an institution or just a wealthy individual, we don't know. But when something this big happens with IBM, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 17 options trades for IBM.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 23% bullish and 64%, bearish.

Out of all of the options we uncovered, 16 are puts, for a total amount of $961,274, and there was 1 call, for a total amount of $28,960.

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Expected Price Movements

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $200.0 to $260.0 for IBM over the recent three months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

Assessing the volume and open interest is a strategic step in options trading. These metrics shed light on the liquidity and investor interest in IBM's options at specified strike prices. The forthcoming data visualizes the fluctuation in volume and open interest for both calls and puts, linked to IBM's substantial trades, within a strike price spectrum from $200.0 to $260.0 over the preceding 30 days.

IBM 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About IBM

IBM looks to be a part of every aspect of an enterprise's IT needs. The company primarily sells software, IT services, consulting, and hardware. IBM operates in 175 countries and employs approximately 300,000 people. The company has a robust roster of business partners to service its clients, which include 95% of all Fortune 500 companies. Primary products include its mainframes, Red Hat software, transaction processing software, and IT consulting.

IBM's Current Market Status

• With a volume of 1,470,659, the price of IBM is down -0.67% at $256.85.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 70 days.

What The Experts Say On IBM

Over the past month, 4 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $250.75.

Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move

Benzinga Edge's Unusual Options board spots potential market movers before they happen. See what positions big money is taking on your favorite stocks. Click here for access. * An analyst from Wedbush has revised its rating downward to Outperform, adjusting the price target to $300. * Reflecting concerns, an analyst from Wedbush lowers its rating to Outperform with a new price target of $300. * An analyst from Morgan Stanley persists with their Equal-Weight rating on IBM, maintaining a target price of $233. * An analyst from UBS has decided to maintain their Sell rating on IBM, which currently sits at 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 want to stay updated on the latest options trades for IBM, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.