Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ:UAL).

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 UAL, 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 54 uncommon options trades for United Airlines Holdings.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 48% bullish and 38%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 9 are puts, for a total amount of $399,669, and 45 are calls, for a total amount of $1,806,459.

Expected Price Movements

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $60.0 and $130.0 for United Airlines Holdings, spanning the last three months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for United Airlines Holdings options trades today is 401.75 with a total volume of 3,346.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for United Airlines Holdings's big money trades within a strike price range of $60.0 to $130.0 over the last 30 days.

United Airlines Holdings Call and Put Volume: 30-Day Overview

Biggest Options Spotted:

Symbol	PUT/CALL	Trade Type	Sentiment	Exp. Date	Ask	Bid	Price	Strike Price	Total Trade Price	Open Interest	Volume
UAL	PUT	TRADE	BEARISH	01/15/27	$20.65	$19.95	$20.65	$120.00	$70.2K	520	34
UAL	CALL	SWEEP	BEARISH	03/27/26	$10.65	$9.15	$9.15	$112.00	$68.6K	0	76
UAL	PUT	SWEEP	BULLISH	01/21/28	$13.7	$13.25	$13.25	$90.00	$52.9K	111	0
UAL	PUT	TRADE	BULLISH	12/18/26	$11.3	$10.2	$10.49	$100.00	$52.4K	126	50
UAL	CALL	TRADE	BULLISH	01/15/27	$59.6	$58.3	$59.6	$60.00	$47.6K	579	29

About United Airlines Holdings

Chicago-based United Airlines is a major US network carrier with hubs in San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, Newark, and Washington, D.C. United operates a hub-and-spoke system that is more focused on international and long-haul travel, especially across the Pacific, than its large US peers.

Current Position of United Airlines Holdings

• With a volume of 1,360,010, the price of UAL is down -0.1% at $115.28.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 64 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for United Airlines Holdings

Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $140.2.

• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Barclays continues to hold a Overweight rating for United Airlines Holdings, targeting a price of $150.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Argus Research continues to hold a Buy rating for United Airlines Holdings, targeting a price of $135.
• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from UBS keeps a Buy rating on United Airlines Holdings with a target price of $147.
• An analyst from TD Cowen persists with their Buy rating on United Airlines Holdings, maintaining a target price of $140.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Goldman Sachs continues to hold a Buy rating for United Airlines Holdings, targeting a price of $129.

Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements.