What the Options Market Tells Us About Applied Mat

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Applied Mat AMAT.

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 AMAT, 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 15 uncommon options trades for Applied Mat.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 33% bullish and 53%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 10 are puts, for a total amount of $486,539, and 5 are calls, for a total amount of $323,048.

Today's Best Finance Deals

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 $130.0 to $185.0 for Applied Mat over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Applied Mat's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Applied Mat's significant trades, within a strike price range of $130.0 to $185.0, over the past month.

Applied Mat Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Applied Mat

Applied Materials is the largest semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment, or WFE, manufacturer in the world. Applied Materials has a broad portfolio spanning nearly every corner of the WFE ecosystem. Specifically, Applied Materials holds a market share leadership position in deposition, which entails the layering of new materials on semiconductor wafers. It is more exposed to general-purpose logic chips made at integrated device manufacturers and foundries. It counts the largest chipmakers in the world as customers, including TSMC, Intel, and Samsung.

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Applied Mat, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Present Market Standing of Applied Mat

• Trading volume stands at 3,444,205, with AMAT's price down by -1.15%, positioned at $171.76.
• RSI indicators show the stock to be is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
• Earnings announcement expected in 64 days.

What Analysts Are Saying About Applied Mat

A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $193.4.

Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days?

20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. Click here for access. * An analyst from Needham downgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $195. * An analyst from Morgan Stanley persists with their Underweight rating on Applied Mat, maintaining a target price of $162. * Maintaining their stance, an analyst from JP Morgan continues to hold a Overweight rating for Applied Mat, targeting a price of $210. * An analyst from Wells Fargo has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Applied Mat, which currently sits at a price target of $200. * Reflecting concerns, an analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald lowers its rating to Overweight with a new price target of $200.

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 Applied Mat, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.