Looking At Exxon Mobil's Recent Whale Trades

Someone with a lot of money to spend has taken a bearish stance on Exxon Mobil XOM.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the big position 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 XOM, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what this whale just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 18 uncommon options trades for Exxon Mobil.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 22% bullish and 77%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 4 are puts, for a total amount of $257,120, and 14 are calls, for a total amount of $929,547.

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What's The Price Target?

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $65.0 to $84.0 for Exxon Mobil over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

Looking at the volume and open interest is a powerful move while trading options. This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Exxon Mobil's options for a given strike price. Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Exxon Mobil's whale trades within a strike price range from $65.0 to $84.0 in the last 30 days.

Exxon Mobil Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Biggest Options Spotted:

Where Is Exxon Mobil Standing Right Now?

• With a volume of 13,659,871, the price of XOM is up 1.59% at $79.23.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 72 days.

What The Experts Say On Exxon Mobil:

• B of A Securities has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Exxon Mobil, which currently sits at a price target of $105.
• RBC Capital upgraded its action to Sector Perform with a price target of $90
• Argus Research upgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $92
• Barclays has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Exxon Mobil, which currently sits at a price target of $91.

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 are already an options trader or would like to get started, head on over to Benzinga Pro. Benzinga Pro gives you up-to-date news and analytics to empower your investing and trading strategy.