Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Taiwan Semiconductor .

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 TSM, 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 9 uncommon options trades for Taiwan Semiconductor.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 33% bullish and 44%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 4 are puts, for a total amount of $264,322, and 5 are calls, for a total amount of $254,678.

What's The Price Target?

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $177.5 to $230.0 for Taiwan Semiconductor over the recent three months.

Insights into Volume & Open Interest

In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of Taiwan Semiconductor stands at 5983.22, with a total volume reaching 1,815.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Taiwan Semiconductor, situated within the strike price corridor from $177.5 to $230.0, throughout the last 30 days.

Taiwan Semiconductor Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Taiwan Semiconductor

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ( TSM ) is the world's largest dedicated chip foundry, with over 60% market share. TSMC was founded in 1987 as a joint venture of Philips, the government of Taiwan, and private investors. It went public as an ADR in the US in 1997. TSMC's scale and high-quality technology allow the firm to generate solid operating margins, even in the highly competitive foundry business. Furthermore, the shift to the fabless business model has created tailwinds for TSMC. The foundry leader has an illustrious customer base, including Apple, AMD, and Nvidia, that looks to apply cutting-edge process technologies to its semiconductor designs. TSMC employs more than 73,000 people.

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Taiwan Semiconductor, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Current Position of Taiwan Semiconductor

With a volume of 8,086,561, the price of TSM is up 1.87% at $183.36.

RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching oversold.

Next earnings are expected to be released in 43 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Taiwan Semiconductor

In the last month, 1 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $225.0.

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 Needham has revised its rating downward to Buy, adjusting the price target to $225.

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 Taiwan Semiconductor, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.