Carnival's Options: A Look at What the Big Money is Thinking
Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Carnival (NYSE:CCL).
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 CCL, 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 8 uncommon options trades for Carnival.
This isn't normal.
The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 37% bullish and 62%, bearish.
Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 5 are puts, for a total amount of $242,980, and 3 are calls, for a total amount of $109,780.
Expected Price Movements
Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $20.0 to $35.0 for Carnival during the past quarter.
Volume & Open Interest Trends
In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Carnival options trades today is 6079.0 with a total volume of 1,376.00.
In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Carnival's big money trades within a strike price range of $20.0 to $35.0 over the last 30 days.
Carnival 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot
Significant Options Trades Detected:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Ask | Bid | Price | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCL | PUT | SWEEP | BULLISH | 03/20/26 | $3.2 | $3.05 | $3.05 | $29.00 | $82.3K | 500 | 45 |
| CCL | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 08/08/25 | $0.47 | $0.4 | $0.47 | $29.50 | $61.2K | 944 | 75 |
| CCL | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 12/19/25 | $10.4 | $10.35 | $10.35 | $20.00 | $41.4K | 5.5K | 40 |
| CCL | CALL | TRADE | BULLISH | 01/15/27 | $4.2 | $4.1 | $4.2 | $35.00 | $39.4K | 25.9K | 216 |
| CCL | PUT | TRADE | BEARISH | 10/17/25 | $0.59 | $0.52 | $0.58 | $25.00 | $34.8K | 7.4K | 600 |
About Carnival
Carnival is the largest global cruise company, with more than 90 ships in service. Its portfolio of brands includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn in North America; P&O Cruises and Cunard Line in the United Kingdom; Aida in Germany; Costa Cruises in Southern Europe. It recently folded its P&O Australia brand into Carnival. The firm also owns Holland America Princess Alaska Tours in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Carnival's brands attracted 14 million guests in 2024.
Current Position of Carnival
- Trading volume stands at 3,339,894, with CCL's price down by -2.34%, positioned at $29.02.
- RSI indicators show the stock to be is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
- Earnings announcement expected in 55 days.
Expert Opinions on Carnival
In the last month, 5 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $36.0.
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* An analyst from Citigroup has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Carnival, which currently sits at a price target of $37.
* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Tigress Financial continues to hold a Buy rating for Carnival, targeting a price of $38.
* Reflecting concerns, an analyst from TD Cowen lowers its rating to Buy with a new price target of $36.
* An analyst from B of A Securities has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Carnival, which currently sits at a price target of $38.
* An analyst from Truist Securities has decided to maintain their Hold rating on Carnival, which currently sits at a price target of $31.
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 Carnival, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
