Deep-pocketed investors have adopted a bearish approach towards Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), and it's something market players shouldn't ignore. Our tracking of public options records at Benzinga unveiled this significant move today. The identity of these investors remains unknown, but such a substantial move in CSCO usually suggests something big is about to happen.

We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga's options scanner highlighted 16 extraordinary options activities for Cisco Systems. This level of activity is out of the ordinary.

The general mood among these heavyweight investors is divided, with 37% leaning bullish and 62% bearish. Among these notable options, 5 are puts, totaling $286,452, and 11 are calls, amounting to $635,454.

What's The Price Target?

Analyzing the Volume and Open Interest in these contracts, it seems that the big players have been eyeing a price window from $45.0 to $57.5 for Cisco Systems during the past quarter.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Cisco Systems options trades today is 13271.92 with a total volume of 20,779.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Cisco Systems's big money trades within a strike price range of $45.0 to $57.5 over the last 30 days.

Cisco Systems Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Noteworthy Options Activity:

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems is the largest provider of networking equipment in the world and one of the largest software companies in the world. Its largest businesses are selling networking hardware and software (where it has leading market shares) and cybersecurity software like firewalls. It also has collaboration products, like its Webex suite, and observability tools. It primarily outsources its manufacturing to third parties and has a large sales and marketing staff—25,000 strong across 90 countries. Overall, Cisco employees 80,000 employees and sells its products globally.

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

Current Position of Cisco Systems

• With a trading volume of 9,690,146, the price of CSCO is up by 1.3%, reaching $48.69.
• Current RSI values indicate that the stock is may be approaching overbought.
• Next earnings report is scheduled for 2 days from now.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Cisco Systems

In the last month, 3 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $54.333333333333336.

• Showing optimism, an analyst from B of A Securities upgrades its rating to Buy with a revised price target of $60.
• An analyst from JP Morgan has revised its rating downward to Neutral, adjusting the price target to $53.
• An analyst from Exane BNP Paribas has elevated its stance to Neutral, setting a new price target at $50.

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.