Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Alphabet .

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 GOOGL, 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 148 uncommon options trades for Alphabet.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 45% bullish and 37%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 33 are puts, for a total amount of $1,514,322, and 115 are calls, for a total amount of $8,535,068.

Expected Price Movements

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $50.0 to $305.0 for Alphabet during the past quarter.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

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 Alphabet'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 Alphabet's whale trades within a strike price range from $50.0 to $305.0 in the last 30 days.

Alphabet 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Alphabet

Alphabet is a holding company that wholly owns internet giant Google. The California-based company derives slightly less than 90% of its revenue from Google services, the vast majority of which is advertising sales. Alongside online ads, Google services houses sales stemming from Google's subscription services (YouTube TV, YouTube Music among others), platforms (sales and in-app purchases on Play Store), and devices (Chromebooks, Pixel smartphones, and smart home products such as Chromecast). Google's cloud computing platform, or GCP, accounts for roughly 10% of Alphabet's revenue with the firm's investments in up-and-coming technologies such as self-driving cars (Waymo), health (Verily), and internet access (Google Fiber) making up the rest.

Having examined the options trading patterns of Alphabet, our attention now turns directly to the company. This shift allows us to delve into its present market position and performance

Present Market Standing of Alphabet

With a volume of 31,628,446, the price of GOOGL is down -0.5% at $229.5.

RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be overbought.

Next earnings are expected to be released in 54 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Alphabet

A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $249.8.

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.

* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Needham continues to hold a Buy rating for Alphabet, targeting a price of $260.

* An analyst from Wedbush persists with their Outperform rating on Alphabet, maintaining a target price of $245.

* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Rosenblatt continues to hold a Neutral rating for Alphabet, targeting a price of $224.

* An analyst from Canaccord Genuity has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Alphabet, which currently sits at a price target of $270.

* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from JMP Securities continues to hold a Market Outperform rating for Alphabet, targeting a price of $250.

Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Alphabet options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.