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

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 CAT, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 11 options trades for Caterpillar.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 18% bullish and 72%, bearish.

Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $31,834, and 10, calls, for a total amount of $464,105.

Predicted Price Range

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $250.0 and $380.0 for Caterpillar, spanning the last three months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of Caterpillar stands at 339.0, with a total volume reaching 72.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in Caterpillar, situated within the strike price corridor from $250.0 to $380.0, throughout the last 30 days.

Caterpillar Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Biggest Options Spotted:

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar is the top manufacturer of heavy equipment, power solutions, and locomotives. It is currently the world's largest manufacturer of heavy equipment. The company is divided into four reportable segments: construction industries, resource industries, energy and transportation, and Cat Financial. Its products are available through a dealer network that covers the globe with about 2,700 branches maintained by 160 dealers. Cat Financial provides retail financing for machinery and engines to its customers, in addition to wholesale financing for dealers, which increases the likelihood of Caterpillar product sales.

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Caterpillar, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Caterpillar's Current Market Status

• With a trading volume of 632,249, the price of CAT is down by -0.22%, reaching $328.35.
• Current RSI values indicate that the stock is may be approaching overbought.
• Next earnings report is scheduled for 21 days from now.

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.