Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Lam Research ( LRCX ) .

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 LRCX, 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 16 uncommon options trades for Lam Research ( LRCX ).

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 18% bullish and 81%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 6 are puts, for a total amount of $255,242, and 10 are calls, for a total amount of $555,004.

Expected Price Movements

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $650.0 to $1040.0 for Lam Research ( LRCX ) over the recent three months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Lam Research ( LRCX ) options trades today is 89.85 with a total volume of 162.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Lam Research's ( LRCX ) big money trades within a strike price range of $650.0 to $1040.0 over the last 30 days.

Lam Research Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Lam Research

Lam Research ( LRCX ) is one of the largest semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment, or WFE, manufacturers in the world. It specializes in the market segments of deposition and etch, which entail the buildup of layers on a semiconductor and the subsequent selective removal of patterns from each layer. Lam holds the top market share in etch and holds the clear cut second share in deposition. It is more exposed to memory chipmakers for DRAM and NAND chips. It counts as top customers the largest chipmakers in the world, including TSMC, Samsung, Intel, and Micron.

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

Current Position of Lam Research

With a trading volume of 197,950, the price of LRCX is down by -1.12%, reaching $962.41.

Current RSI values indicate that the stock is may be approaching overbought.

Next earnings report is scheduled for 14 days from now.

What Analysts Are Saying About Lam Research

Over the past month, 2 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $1040.0.

An analyst from Wells Fargo has decided to maintain their Equal-Weight rating on Lam Research ( LRCX ), which currently sits at a price target of $980.

Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald keeps a Neutral rating on Lam Research ( LRCX ) with a target price of $1100.

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 Lam Research ( LRCX ), Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.