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

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 AMAT, 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 14 uncommon options trades for Applied Mat.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 57% bullish and 42%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 6 are puts, for a total amount of $349,240, and 8 are calls, for a total amount of $463,690.

Projected Price Targets

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $150.0 to $250.0 for Applied Mat during the past quarter.

Volume & Open Interest Development

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 Applied Mat'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 Applied Mat's whale trades within a strike price range from $150.0 to $250.0 in the last 30 days.

Applied Mat Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Biggest Options Spotted:

About Applied Mat

Applied Materials ( AMAT ) is the largest semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment, or WFE, manufacturer in the world. Applied Materials ( AMAT ) has a broad portfolio spanning nearly every corner of the WFE ecosystem. Specifically, Applied Materials ( AMAT ) holds a market share leadership position in deposition, which entails the layering of new materials on semiconductor wafers. It is more exposed to general-purpose logic chips made at integrated device manufacturers and foundries. It counts the largest chipmakers in the world as customers, including TSMC, Intel, and Samsung.

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

Current Position of Applied Mat

Trading volume stands at 1,644,001, with AMAT's price up by 0.72%, positioned at $202.0.

RSI indicators show the stock to be may be approaching overbought.

Earnings announcement expected in 63 days.

Expert Opinions on Applied Mat

A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $234.0.

Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Raymond James keeps a Outperform rating on Applied Mat with a target price of $225.

An analyst from UBS has decided to maintain their Neutral rating on Applied Mat, which currently sits at a price target of $235.

Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Goldman Sachs keeps a Buy rating on Applied Mat with a target price of $220.

Reflecting concerns, an analyst from B. Riley Securities lowers its rating to Buy with a new price target of $250.

An analyst from Needham persists with their Buy rating on Applied Mat, maintaining a target price of $240.

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 Applied Mat, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.