Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) .

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 LMT, 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 Lockheed Martin ( LMT ).

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 46% bullish and 53%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 2 are puts, for a total amount of $141,750, and 13 are calls, for a total amount of $857,424.

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 $455.0 to $600.0 for Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) over the last 3 months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) options trades today is 1572.0 with a total volume of 8,655.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Lockheed Martin's ( LMT ) big money trades within a strike price range of $455.0 to $600.0 over the last 30 days.

Lockheed Martin Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) is the world's largest defense contractor and has dominated the Western market for high-end fighter aircraft since it won the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in 2001. Lockheed's largest segment is aeronautics, which derives upward of two-thirds of its revenue from the F-35. Lockheed's remaining segments are rotary and mission systems, which is mainly the Sikorsky helicopter business; missiles and fire control, which creates missiles and missile defense systems; and space systems, which produces satellites and receives equity income from the United Launch Alliance joint venture.

Lockheed Martin's Current Market Status

Currently trading with a volume of 45,845, the LMT's price is up by 0.38%, now at $454.81.

RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching overbought.

Anticipated earnings release is in 7 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Lockheed Martin

In the last month, 1 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $518.0.

An analyst from JP Morgan upgraded its action to Overweight with a price target of $518.

Trading options involves greater risks but also offers the potential for higher profits. Savvy traders mitigate these risks through ongoing education, strategic trade adjustments, utilizing various indicators, and staying attuned to market dynamics. Keep up with the latest options trades for Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts.