Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Mastercard (NYSE:MA).

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the positions 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 MA, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 8 options trades for Mastercard.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 0% bullish and 87%, bearish.

Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $75,600, and 7, calls, for a total amount of $369,642.

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 $400.0 to $480.0 for Mastercard during the past quarter.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

Assessing the volume and open interest is a strategic step in options trading. These metrics shed light on the liquidity and investor interest in Mastercard's options at specified strike prices. The forthcoming data visualizes the fluctuation in volume and open interest for both calls and puts, linked to Mastercard's substantial trades, within a strike price spectrum from $400.0 to $480.0 over the preceding 30 days.

Mastercard Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview

Significant Options Trades Detected:

About Mastercard

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

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

Current Position of Mastercard

• Currently trading with a volume of 998,368, the MA's price is down by -0.23%, now at $454.6.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching overbought.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 29 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Mastercard

1 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $525.0.

• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Evercore ISI Group keeps a Outperform rating on Mastercard with a target price of $525.

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.