Deep-pocketed investors have adopted a bearish approach towards Mastercard ( MA ) , and it's something market players shouldn't ignore. Our tracking of public options records at Benzinga unveiled this significant move today. The identity of these investors remains unknown, but such a substantial move in MA usually suggests something big is about to happen.

We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga's options scanner highlighted 29 extraordinary options activities for Mastercard ( MA ). This level of activity is out of the ordinary.

The general mood among these heavyweight investors is divided, with 31% leaning bullish and 68% bearish. Among these notable options, 25 are puts, totaling $1,433,644, and 4 are calls, amounting to $355,255.

Expected Price Movements

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $450.0 and $500.0 for Mastercard ( MA ), spanning the last three months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Mastercard's ( MA ) options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Mastercard's ( MA ) significant trades, within a strike price range of $450.0 to $500.0, over the past month.

Mastercard Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Noteworthy Options Activity:

About Mastercard

Mastercard ( MA ) is the second-largest payment processor in the world, having processed close to over $9 trillion in volume during 2023. Mastercard ( MA ) operates in over 200 countries and processes transactions in over 150 currencies.

Current Position of Mastercard

With a volume of 731,315, the price of MA is down 0.0% at $481.68.

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

Next earnings are expected to be released in 31 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Mastercard

2 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $535.0.

Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Wells Fargo keeps a Overweight rating on Mastercard ( MA ) with a target price of $530.

Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Jefferies continues to hold a Buy rating for Mastercard ( MA ), targeting a price of $540.

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 want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Mastercard ( MA ), Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.