Palantir Technologies Stock Plummets, Options Traders Place Big Bets

Palantir Technologies, Inc PLTR lost its uptrend on Sept. 23 when it failed to make a higher high above the Sept. 17 price of $29.29. When the stock failed to continue its uptrend, Palantir created a bearish double top pattern and between Monday and Wednesday fell 12% lower.

On Wednesday morning Palantir lost support at the 200-day simple moving average, which indicates overall sentiment in the stock has turned bearish. Options traders saw another leg down was in the cards and began hammering bearish put contracts as soon as the markets opened.

Together the traders bet $781,896 Palantir’s stock is headed lower still, with one trader paying 131,790 for a single order of 690 contracts with a $27 strike and an expiry of this Friday. The trader paid $1.91 per contract.

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Why It’s Important: When a sweep order occurs, it indicates the trader wanted to get into a position quickly and is anticipating an imminent large move in stock price. A sweeper pays market price for the call or put option instead of placing a bid, which sweeps the order book of multiple exchanges to fill the order immediately.

These types of option orders are usually made by institutions, and retail investors can find watching for sweepers useful because it indicates “smart money” has entered into a position.

The PLTR trades: Below is a look at the notable options alerts, courtesy of Benzinga Pro:

• At 9:31 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep above ask of 300 Palantir options with a strike price of $26 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $27,900 bearish bet for which the trader paid 93 cents per option contract.
• At 9:38 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 313 Palantir options with a strike price of $26 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $31,926 bearish bet for which the trader paid $1.02 per option contract.
• At 11:07 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 690 Palantir options with a strike price of $27 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $131,790 bearish bet for which the trader paid $1.91 per option contract.
• At 11:08 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 500 Palantir options with a strike price of $27 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $93,500 bearish bet for which the trader paid $1.87 per option contract.
• At 11:09 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 360 Palantir options with a strike price of $27 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $65,880 bearish bet for which the trader paid $1.83 per option contract.
• At 11:10 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 417 Palantir options with a strike price of $26 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $40,032 bearish bet for which the trader paid 96 cents per option contract.
• At 11:11 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 311 Palantir options with a strike price of $26 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $59,401 bearish bet for which the trader paid $1.91 per option contract.
• At 11:11 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 750 Palantir options with a strike price of $26 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $68,250 bearish bet for which the trader paid 91 cents per option contract.
• At 11:11 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 365 Palantir options with a strike price of $26 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $32,850 bearish bet for which the trader paid 90 cents per option contract.
• At 11:12 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 672 Palantir options with a strike price of $26 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $59,808 bearish bet for which the trader paid 89 cents per option contract.
• At 11:43 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 867 Palantir options with a strike price of $20 expiring on Nov. 19. The trade represented a $33,813 bearish bet for which the trader paid 39 cents per option contract.
• At 11:50 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 250 Palantir options with a strike price of $22 expiring on Jan. 21, 2022. The trade represented a $35,500 bearish bet for which the trader paid $1.42 per option contract.
• At 11:50 a.m., a trader executed a put sweep near the ask of 713 Palantir options with a strike price of $22 expiring on Jan. 21, 2022. The trade represented a $101,246 bearish bet for which the trader paid $1.42 per option contract.

PLTR Price Action: Palantir is trading down 3% to $24.60 at publication time.