Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) .

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 SCHW, 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 17 uncommon options trades for Charles Schwab ( SCHW ).

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 23% bullish and 70%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 13 are puts, for a total amount of $944,461, and 4 are calls, for a total amount of $750,128.

Predicted Price Range

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $40.0 and $75.0 for Charles Schwab ( SCHW ), spanning the last three months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) options trades today is 4687.22 with a total volume of 19,787.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Charles Schwab's ( SCHW ) big money trades within a strike price range of $40.0 to $75.0 over the last 30 days.

Charles Schwab Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) operates in brokerage, wealth management, banking, and asset management. It runs a large network of brick-and-mortar brokerage branch offices and a well-established online investing website, and it has mobile trading capabilities. It also operates a bank and a proprietary asset-management business and offers services to independent investment advisors. Schwab is among the largest firms in the investment business, with over $8 trillion of client assets at the end of December 2023. Nearly all of its revenue is from the United States.

In light of the recent options history for Charles Schwab ( SCHW ), it's now appropriate to focus on the company itself. We aim to explore its current performance.

Charles Schwab's Current Market Status

With a volume of 3,206,756, the price of SCHW is down -0.78% at $64.08.

RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.

Next earnings are expected to be released in 20 days.

What The Experts Say On Charles Schwab

A total of 1 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $70.0.

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.

* An analyst from Wells Fargo downgraded its action to Equal-Weight with a price target of $70.

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 Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.